US investigators, working to untangle the money trail following the September 11 terrorist attacks, have uncovered two bank accounts in the United Arab Emirates belonging to the suspected hijackers, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.
Mohammed Atta and Marwan Al Shehhi, two of the suspected plot leaders, held bank accounts in the UAE before they came to the United States, according to the report, cited by AFP.
Atta, an Egyptian, maintained an account at a local Citibank branch while Shehhi, a native of the Emirates, had an account at a local branch of London-based HSBC Holdings, said the Times, quoting UAE officials. Sultan bin Nasser al Suweidi, head of the UAE central bank, said Atta's account was "busier" than normal, with frequent transfers of 10,000 dollars to 15,000 dollars. He also said the traffic in the account would provide investigators with a money trail, according to the report.
"It is easy in our system to know exactly where the transfers are coming from," the paper quoted Suweidi as saying. "The investigators and the FBI, they have everything." Shehhi's account, in contrast, never held much money, the newspaper reported, citing banking officials.
The central bank of the UAE has ordered the freezing of accounts and investments of 26 individuals and organizations suspected of financing terrorist activities.
"Based on the UAE's decision in conjunction with the international efforts to fight terrorism, it has decided that all banks, moneychangers, investment companies and other financial institutions operating in the UAE will freeze the accounts of certain persons/terrorist entities," the bank said in early October– Albawaba.com
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