US Freezes Assets of 39 More Terrorist-Related Individuals, OrganizationsThe US government Friday froze financial assets of 39 more individuals and organizations in its ongoing war against terrorism.Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said the list includes businesses and charitable groups that give financial support to the al-Qaida network led by Osama bin laden. "This list will continue to grow as we share information between nations and develop an increasingly clear understanding of the complex network of terrorist financing," he said. President George W. Bush signed an executive order on September 24 freezing the assets of 27 individuals and organization suspected of being linked to terrorism. Bush said Thursday that roughly 24 million dollars in assets, including some belonging to bin Laden, has been frozen by the United States and other countries since last month's terror attacks. Nearly 4 million dollars was blocked by the United States while the rest was frozen by other countries. A Treasury Department official said all of the frozen assets were connected to either Saudi exile bin Laden, his al-Qaida network or Afghanistan's ruling Taliban. Treasury officials said the government is reviewing several million dollars in additional assets to be possibly blocked. The Treasury Department said Thursday that 102 countries have pledged to join the effort to freeze terrorist assets and 62 countries already have put blocking orders in force. |
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