XVII. b. The MLSA provides the rules for association liquidation and will decide who will receive liquidated assets in case it is not clearly stated in the charity's charter. MLSA JURISDICTION a. The MLSA is the official organization in charge of supervising the activities of charities and the implementation of its plans. They have the right to review all files and registers. If an MLSA officer presents himself and requests information about the association, the association must provide this officer with such information. b. The MLSA has the authority to block any decision emanating from the association that is in opposition to the organizational chart. XVIII. GENERAL CABINET FOR THE CIVILIAN SERVICE XIX. XX. XXI. The MLSA and the General Cabinet for the Civilian Service are in charge of providing certificates and authorization to any citizen who uses any cultural, educational or other type of service provided by charities. CREATION OF THE INSTITUTION AND ITS GOALS It is possible to create a charitable institution for a non-pecuniary goal with the condition that this institution profits only its members or pre-defined groups. The MLSA has a special file listing all charitable institutions. The charitable institution acquires its legal status once registered in this file. XXII. The same rules organizing charities are applicable to a charitable organization. XXIII. Charitable institutions cannot receive subsidies from the MLSA nor can they accept small donations (tabarra), but they can still accept large donations (hibet) and receive bequests. XXIV. After the liquidation of any charitable institution, its money goes to a charitable association according to the directives of the MLSA unless the institutions organizational chart states that proceeds shall go to a specific charitable activity. XXV. These regulations apply to charitable associations and charitable institutions irregardless of whether they registered or were established prior to the publication of these rules. These regulations do not apply to special charitable institutions created by Royal decree. XXVI. These regulations emanate from the MLSA and should be announced in the official bulletin. XXVII. These regulations supercede any conflicting regulations. XXVIII. These regulations come into effect 60 days after announcement in the official bulletin. I am writing as counsel to Saudi businessman and benefactor Mr. Yasin Abdullah al Kadi to correct serious and damaging misstatements concerning my client in the Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing report entitled "An Update on the Global Campaign Against Terrorist Financing" released on Tuesday, June 15, ("the Report") during your committee's hearing on current efforts to combat terrorism financing. Most of these misstatements were repeated by Mr. Lee Wolosky, Co-Director of the Task Force, both during his testimony and in responding to questions raised by various Committee members. As you know, the Report consists of an analysis of ongoing U.S. and Saudi efforts to address terrorist financing and offers recommendations to improve these efforts. One of the Report's main criticisms is that the Saudi government has not taken any "public punitive actions against any individual for financing terror." In making this analysis the Report, as well as Mr. Wolosky's written statement submitted for the record, contains the following statements concerning Mr. Kadi which have caused deep concer to both my client and his entire legal team both in the U.S. and abroad: Not only have there been no publicly announced arrests in Saudi Arabia related to terrorist financing, but key financiers remain free or go unpunished. For example, Yasin U.S. practice conducted through McDermott Will & Emery LLP. 400 Thirteenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005-3096 Telephone: 202.758.8000 Facsimile: 202.756.8087 www.mwa.com The Honorable Susan M. Collins The Honorable Joseph Lieberman Page 2 al-Qadi, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, appears to live freely in Saudi Arabia. According to the Treasury Department, "He heads the Saudi-based Muwafaq Foundation. Muwafaq is an al-Qaeda front that receives funding from wealthy Saudi businessmen. Blessed Relief is the English translation. Saudi businessmen have been transferring millions of dollars to bin Laden through Blessed Relief. See Report at 19, Wolosky Statement at 5 (emphasis added). This Treasury Department Statement is not publicly available. The Task Force did not properly conduct its due diligence and is instead only once more repeating unsupported statements and allegations made in newspaper articles. For example, it appears that this supposed Treasury Department statement was derived from an October 29, 1999, article entitled "Saudi money aiding bin Laden: Businessmen are financing front groups" by the former and now discredited USA Today Reporter Jack Kelley. As you are likely aware, Mr. Kelley was recently forced to resign after being exposed for fabricating articles, including the October 29, 1999, article referenced above. That article has since been withdrawn by USA Today and is no longer publicly made available. A story on Oct. 29, 1999, titled “Saudi money aiding bin Laden," contained USA Today, p. A2 (Apr. 13, 2004). The Task Force should have been more careful in verifying its sources, especially when calling for the criminal prosecution of Mr. Kadi. The only proceedings that are currently ongoing in the United States involving Mr. Kadi are civil and administrative proceedings related to OFAC's freezing of his assets. It is irresponsible, and there is no basis for the Task Force to call for a criminal prosecution of Mr. Kadi in Saudi Arabia when criminal charges have not been brought against him in the United States. It is reasonable to presume that criminal charges have not been brought because there is not sufficient evidence to bring such charges or obtain a conviction. The Committee should insist that the Task Force immediately verify their sources and consult with Mr. Kadi, who they have wrongfully accused but never contacted. Mr. Kadi has always sought a fair and transparent process in which to contest his designation by OFAC. Mr. Kadi reiterates his willingness to meet with Congressional investigators or members of the Task Force. Mr. Kadi categorically denies any association with terrorism and has, from the beginning, simply sought to clear his name and resume his normal business and philanthropic activities. Mr. Kadi is challenging the freezing measures against him in various countries throughout the world including the U.S., the UK, the European Union, and Switzerland; but these efforts are only further complicated by the careless republication of baseless allegations all over the world. The Honorable Susan M. Collins The Honorable Joseph Lieberman Page 3 Mr. Kadi's legal team is challenging the failure to provide any adequate right of redress in a landmark case Mr. Kadi has brought before the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") against the Council and Commission, the institutions of the European Union. As Mr. Kadi has stated on many occasions that he abhors terrorism and condemns it in all its forms. He is well known within Saudi Arabia as well as in other parts of the world where he has carried on business and is considered to be a respected financier, businessman, and benefactor. Mr. Kadi has never provided support for terrorism, financial or otherwise, and is personally strongly opposed to terrorist activity in all forms. He considers those that support or participate in terrorism to be offensive to the Muslim faith deserving of the most severe condemnation. He believes that those who commit terrorist acts have no place in the Muslim faith. It is hard to imagine a more serious and damaging charge than complicity with a terrorist organization. As you must appreciate, the continued repetition of already discredited information and the misstatements described above and the insertion in the Congressional record of factual claims that are clearly untrue can only aggravate the harm already suffered by Mr. Kadi, his reputation, his family, and his businesses. This is because the repetition of such allegations in the Congressional Record itself may be used by writers, commentators, and the like to give further credence to false discredited allegations which have no substance in fact no matter how often they are repeated. Considering the seriousness of this matter, I respectfully request that this letter be made part of the Committee's official record for the June 15, 2004, hearing, and that it be posted on the Committee's website. In addition, the Committee should seek clarification of the Task Force position after it has had an opportunity to further review the issues related to Mr. Kadi. Sincerely Stanton D. Andersgn WDC99 942828-1.064622.0011 We write in response to your letters dated June 30, 2004 and July 1, 2004. Those letters were addressed to Senators Susan M. Collins and Joseph Lieberman and to us, respectively. Your letters expressed certain concerns regarding the recent report of the Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, titled Update on the Global Campaign Against Terrorist Financing (the "Report"). Your letters also expressed concerns regarding related Congressional testimony before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on June 15, 2004 We write in our individual capacities, as the principal authors of the Report. We are not writing on behalf of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Task Force, its individual members or its Chairman. As far as your client Mr. Yasin al Qadi is concerned, the Report quotes from a widely distributed Treasury Department Fact Sheet released on October 12, 2001, when President George W. Bush designated Mr. al Qadi a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" pursuant to authorities granted to the President under the International Emergency Economics Power Act (“IEEPA”). We assume that you have a copy of this Fact Sheet but would be happy to provide a copy to you if you so wish. As you may know, under IEEPA the President may act against persons he determines to constitute an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the national security of the United States. As a result of Mr. Qadi's designation by the U.S. government as a "global terrorist," his assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction were frozen and U.S. persons were prohibited from transacting business with him. Following Mr. Qadi's designation by the U.S. government as a “global terrorist," the United Nations took similar action against him. Notably, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supported this multilateral action, according to the United States. In a January 22, 2004 announcement, the Treasury Department noted that, among Saudi Arabia's “important and welcome steps to fight terrorist financing" was the fact that it had "supported the |