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Bin Laden's Business Connections in S. Africa Under Probe
South African authorities are investigating a network of Muslim businessmen who recently boasted of a connection to the "structures" of alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, the City Press newspaper reported on Sunday
Among the businessmen are two Arabs whose activities and assets revolve around the Waterfall Islamic Institute in a private residential area in Midrand, outside Johannesburg.
One of the businessmen also has links to the banking industry in Botswana and the other has a chain of sports shops in Johannesburg and Pretoria. The names of the two men were, however, not given.
The businessmen are involved with the building of mosques in various African countries. They buy construction companies, chain stores and game farms. They make use of South African partners to handle the transactions and register the transactions under the third parties.
A probe by the South African intelligence community and banking sector into Bin Laden's financial affairs includes investigations into the affairs of a long list of individuals, businesses and other institutes in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces.
Particulars of Bin Laden's tentacles in South Africa came to light when intelligence agencies worldwide started unraveling the network of the man who is the prime suspect in the September 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.
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