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3.08 MB

Extraction Summary

8
People
20
Organizations
1
Locations
2
Events
3
Relationships
4
Quotes

Document Information

Type: Court opinion / legal document
File Size: 3.08 MB
Summary

This document is a page from a 2005 Federal Court opinion (In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001) bearing a House Oversight Committee Bates stamp. It details the dismissal of civil RICO and ATA complaints against several SAAR Network executives (Al-Awani, Ashrafs, Mirza, Unus) due to lack of specific allegations connecting them to al Qaeda support. However, the court denied the motion to dismiss for Jamal Barzinji regarding material support claims, citing his control over bank accounts and alleged financial transfers to al Qaeda, while dismissing the RICO claim against him. It also briefly mentions a motion for reconsideration by NCB (National Commercial Bank).

People (8)

Name Role Context
Taha Al-Awani Defendant / SAAR Network Executive
President of IIIT and officer of Heritage Education Trust. Complaint against him dismissed without prejudice.
Muhammad Ashraf Defendant / SAAR Network Executive
Officer/director of Sterling Investment Group, Sterling Charitable Gift Fund, and York Foundation. Complaint against ...
M. Omar Ashraf Defendant / SAAR Network Executive
Officer/director of Grove Corporate Plaza, Mar-Jac Investments, and Sterling Charitable Gift Fund. Complaint against ...
M. Yaqub Mirza Defendant / SAAR Network Executive
Officer/director of African Muslim Agency, Mar-Jac Investments, Mar-Jac Poultry, Reston Investments, SAAR Foundation,...
Iqbal Unus Defendant / SAAR Network Executive
SAAR Network executive. Complaint against him dismissed without prejudice.
Jamal Barzinji Defendant / SAAR Network Executive
Saudi national, President of Safa Trust. Alleged to have provided material support to al Qaeda. Motion to dismiss den...
Yousef Nada Designated Terrorist
Described as a business associate of Jamal Barzinji.
Iqbal Yunus Director
Director of Child Development Foundation, associated with Sterling Charitable Gift Fund and Sterling Management Group.

Timeline (2 events)

2005
Court Opinion/Ruling
Federal Court
Court Defendants
September 11, 2001
Terrorist Attacks (referenced in case title)
USA

Locations (1)

Relationships (3)

Jamal Barzinji Business Associate Yousef Nada
He is a business associate of the designated terrorist Yousef Nada.
Jamal Barzinji President Safa Trust
Jamal Barzinji was president of Safa Trust
Yaqub Mirza Principal Signatory Safa Group
he was the principal signatory on Safa Group checks

Key Quotes (4)

"Barzinji 'committed and conspired to: transit money internationally for the purpose of promoting offenses against foreign nations involving murder or the destruction of property...'"
Source
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Quote #1
"The complaint does not state a claim for relief against Taha Al–Awani, Muhammad Ashraf, M. Omar Ashraf, M. Yaqub Mirza, or Iqbal Unus on a civil RICO theory or under the ATA."
Source
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Quote #2
"Mr. Barzinji does have sufficient notice of the claims against him regarding his alleged provision of material support in the form of financial transactions to al Qaeda."
Source
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Quote #3
"Jamal Barzinji... is a Saudi national who, 'through his various for-profit enterprises and involvement with charities and individuals operating within al Qaida’s infrastructure, has long provided material support and resources to al Qaida.'"
Source
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Quote #4

Full Extracted Text

Complete text extracted from the document (5,474 characters)

In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, 392 F.Supp.2d 539 (2005)
10 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 789
[41] Taha Al-Awani, Muhammad Ashraf, M. Omar Ashraf, M. Yaqub Mirza, and Iqbal Unus are SAAR Network executives who are mentioned once in the Federal complaint in a long list of Defendants who allegedly “have aided and abetted, conspired with, and provided material support and resources to, defendant al Qaida and/or affiliated FTOs, associations, organizations or persons, as described herein.” (Federal Compl. ¶ 66.) The complaint does not include any other allegations against these Defendants.
The Federal complaint alleges that Jamal Barzinji, another SAAR Network executive who moves to dismiss the complaint, is a Saudi national who, “through his various for-profit enterprises and involvement with charities and individuals operating within al Qaida’s infrastructure, has long provided material support and resources to al Qaida.” (Federal Compl. ¶¶ 490–91.) Barzinji has served as a board member of, or been associated with, several SAAR Network entities, including IIIT, WAMY, Safa Trust, Mar-Jac Poultry, and SAAR Foundation. Id. ¶ 490 (claiming that while he was the President of Safa Trust, he “held authority over eighteen bank accounts”). He is a business associate of the designated terrorist Yousef Nada. (Id.) According to unnamed federal authorities, Barzinji “committed and conspired to: transit money internationally for the purpose of promoting offenses against foreign nations involving murder or the destruction of property by means of explosive, fire, kidnapping or extortion ...; provide material support or resources to foreign terrorist organizations ...; and provide material support or conceal or disguise the source of ownership of material support *572 intended for use in preparation for or in carrying out a terrorist act.” (Id.)
The RICO statement provides additional associations between each of these SAAR Network executives and the SAAR Network. (See Federal RICO Statement Applicable to the SAAR Network Executives at Ex. A (alleging in their roles as executives of SAAR Network entities, each of these Defendants committed multiple acts of conspiracy to commit multiple crimes).) Specifically, Taha Al–Awani was President of IIIT and an officer of Heritage Education Trust; Muhammad Ashraf was an officer and/or director of Sterling Investment Group, Sterling Charitable Gift Fund, and York Foundation; M. Omar Ashraf was an officer and/or director of Grove Corporate Plaza, Mar–Jac Investments, and Sterling Charitable Gift Fund; Yaqub Mirza served as an officer and/or director of African Muslim Agency, Mar–Jac Investments, Mar–Jac Poultry, Reston Investments, SAAR Foundation, Safa Trust, where he was the principal signatory on Safa Group checks, and York International; Iqbal Yunus was a director of Child Development Foundation, a SAAR Network entity, and was associated with Sterling Charitable Gift Fund, and Sterling Management Group; finally, Jamal Barzinji was president of Safa Trust and a director of Mar–Jac Poultry, Reston Investments, IIIT, and Safa Trust. (Id. at 5(f) and Ex. A.)
The complaint does not state a claim for relief against Taha Al–Awani, Muhammad Ashraf, M. Omar Ashraf, M. Yaqub Mirza, or Iqbal Unus on a civil RICO theory or under the ATA. Reading the complaint as a whole and considering the overlap of executives among the SAAR Network entities, the complaint does not adequately provide these Defendants with notice as to how they provided material support to al Qaeda terrorists. See Boim II, 291 F.3d at 1023 (explaining a claim under the ATA must include allegation that defendant knew about terrorists’ illegal activities, defendant wanted to help those activities succeed, and defendant engaged in an act of helping). The Federal complaint against Taha Al–Awani, Muhammad Ashraf, M. Omar Ashraf, M. Yaqub Mirza, and Iqbal Unus is dismissed without prejudice.
[42] [43] Jamal Barzinji controlled several bank accounts. (Federal Compl. ¶ 490.) He has allegedly transmitted money internationally for terrorist purposes. (Id.) He allegedly made these transfers to support al Qaeda. (Id. at ¶¶ 490–91.) The Federal Plaintiffs do not allege that Mr. Barzinji participated in the operation or management of their claimed RICO enterprise, and the RICO claim against him is dismissed. Reves, 507 U.S. at 179, 113 S.Ct. 1163. But Mr. Barzinji does have sufficient notice of the claims against him regarding his alleged provision of material support in the form of financial transactions to al Qaeda. See 18 U.S.C. § 2339(A) (including provision of “currency or other financial securities [and] financial services” in definition of material support) Accordingly, his motion to dismiss the Federal complaint is denied.
IV. NCB’s Motion for Reconsideration
In deciding NCB’s motions to dismiss the Ashton and Burnett complaints, the Court ruled that NCB’s status as a foreign sovereign for purposes of immunity under the FSIA was unclear. It also questioned whether it had personal jurisdiction over NCB. The Court ordered limited jurisdictional discovery on both issues. Terrorist Attacks I, 349 F.Supp.2d at 792, 820. In light of the possible lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction, the Court refrained from deciding NCB’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. NCB *573 moves for
WESTLAW © 2019 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
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