Denpasar, Indonesia, July 31: Al-Qaeda apparently provided some of the funds transferred to the alleged controller of the Bali bombings before the attack which killed hundreds, an official of the Jemaah Islamiyah network said today. Wan Min Bin Wan Mat, 42, gave his evidence by video conference at the trial of Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, who is charged with overall responsibility for the October 12 nightclub blasts which killed 202 mostly western holiday-makers.
It was the most direct evidence so far linking al-Qaeda to the Bali bombers. Wan min has said previously the bombers were inspired by an edict issued by al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Wan Min, a Malaysian who is detained in Malaysia, testified from Kuala Lumpur that he gave a total of 35,500 dollars to Mukhlas in 2002.
Calling himself "just the delivery person", Wan Min said he had no responsibility for finances and is not certain where the money originated, but he heard some of it came from al-Qaeda.
"From my conversations, contacts with ... Jemaah Islamiyah I learned that some of the sourcing for that financing is from al-Qaeda," said the bespectacled Wan Min, a former lecturer at a Malaysian technological university.
Asked by a judge whether the money came from bin Laden himself, Wan Min replied, "I'm not certain of that."
He also said he did not know who decided to release those funds.
Bureau Report