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US subpoenaed Saudi Embassy`s bank records: Report
Washington, Nov 23: In an unprecedented move, the FBI has subpoenaed records for dozens of bank accounts belonging to the Saudi Embassy, part of an investigation into whether any of the hundreds of millions of dollars Riyadh spends in the US each year end up in the hands of extremists, american and Saudi officials said.
Washington, Nov 23: In an unprecedented move, the
FBI has subpoenaed records for dozens of bank accounts
belonging to the Saudi Embassy, part of an investigation into
whether any of the hundreds of millions of dollars Riyadh
spends in the US each year end up in the hands of extremists,
american and Saudi officials said.
The wide-ranging investigation into the USD 300 million a
year the Saudi Embassy spends here was launched this summer,
just as the US and Saudi governments were hailing a new era
of cooperation in the fight against terrorism, a media report
here said.
US officials said the FBI's Washington field office subpoenaed the records of dozens of Saudi bank accounts to determine whether Saudi government money knowingly or unknowingly helped fund extremists in the United States.
Although many Saudi entities have been investigated in the past, US officials said this was the first investigation to directly probe Saudi government funds. Senior US officials said they do not recall any other time when the bank records of an embassy were subpoenaed.
The probe, US officials said, was approved by the national security council working group on terrorist financing at the request of several Congressional leaders.
Bureau Report
US officials said the FBI's Washington field office subpoenaed the records of dozens of Saudi bank accounts to determine whether Saudi government money knowingly or unknowingly helped fund extremists in the United States.
Although many Saudi entities have been investigated in the past, US officials said this was the first investigation to directly probe Saudi government funds. Senior US officials said they do not recall any other time when the bank records of an embassy were subpoenaed.
The probe, US officials said, was approved by the national security council working group on terrorist financing at the request of several Congressional leaders.
Bureau Report