October 10, 2002	Thursday	Sha’aban 3, 1423

CHICAGO, Oct 9: US officials on Wednesday announced the indictment of the head of a Muslim charity, charging he used donations to fund terrorism around the world.

Syrian-born Enaam Arnaout, who has been in custody since April, engaged in a “multinational criminal enterprise that for a decade used charitable contributions of innocent Americans — Muslims, non-Muslims and corporations alike — to support Al Qaeda” as well as turmoil in Chechnya and “armed violence in Bosnia”, the Justice Department said.

The seven-count indictment largely repeated charges made against Arnaout, 40, in documents released at the time of his arrest earlier this year and at subsequent court hearings.

He had previously been charged only with lying in a court document that his Benevolence International Foundation filed when it challenged the seizure of its assets in the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks.—Reuters