December 10, 2001	Monday	Ramazan 24, 1422

RIYADH, Dec 9: A top level US delegation is in the Kingdom to discuss the establishment of a mechanism to supervise the workings of the charities, it was reported here.

The daily Al-Watan said the 10-member US delegation wanted coordination with the Saudi authorities in order to oversee fund-raising and spending by all charity organizations operating in the Kingdom.

The delegation comprising officials of the US Treasury, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department, and the National Security Council began discussions with Saudi officials on Saturday.

A White House spokesman was quoted here as saying that the team would discuss the on-going cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the financial war against terrorism.

A senior US administration official denied the mission was a sign of rift between Washington and Riyadh on efforts to freeze assets and entities that support them.

Saudi charities have offices and representatives in 55 countries and in the past two decades contributed hundreds of million of riyals in aid to Palestinians, Bosnians, Afghans and other needy people.

Following Sept 11 attacks on the US landmarks, Western media have been accusing Saudi charities and businessmen of funding terrorist activities. Saudi Arabia was also accused of not doing enough to crack down on bank accounts of people suspected of funding terrorism, and a number of Saudi businessmen have been figured on a US list of suspected terrorism financiers.

Riyadh has all along maintained that it will cooperate with the anti-terrorism campaign, but has demanded evidence from Washington over suspected bank accounts before taking any action.