Geneva, Dec 04: Swiss investigators revealed today that international terror mastermind Osama bin Laden was a beneficiary of a Swiss Bank account until 1997. Fifty-seven other members of the extended bin Laden family were also listed as beneficiaries of the account at the Swiss Bank UBS in Zurich, which was held by two of his half brothers, a spokeswoman for the Swiss federal prosecutors' office said. Andrea Sadecky confirmed a report in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, which said that a two-year investigation had found that the head of al-Qaeda was linked to account number 575.167 opened in 1990 by his two half brothers -- Yahia bin Laden, the head of the family's Saudi construction group Binladin, and Baqer bin Laden. "I can confirm the information concerning the bank account of the bin laden family," Sadecky told a news agency.

The investigation by Swiss authorities was launched after the deadly September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.

The newspaper said the account was opened in 1990 because of fears that Iraq could invade Saudi Arabia and seize the family's fortune.

Bureau Report