WASHINGTON, Nov 8: The United States on Wednesday blocked the American assets of two financial networks, Al-Barakaat and Al-Taqwa, and similar action was taken at several places abroad as part of a continuing move to crackdown on organizations believed to be sources of funding for Al-Qaeda.

Raids were carried out on the offices of Al-Barakaat, said to be based in the UAE, in the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church (both in the Washington suburbs), Minneapolis, Boston, Seattle and Columbus. One person was arrested.

The organization is described as a “hawala” enterprize that operates in 40 countries, from Somalia to Sweden. “Hawala’s outlets, patronized by immigrants wishing to send money home to families, have generally come in for greater scrutiny since the Sept 11 attacks.

According to the Treasury Department, internationally and domestically some $24 million have been blocked following the attacks, and President George Bush has named 66 individuals and entities to a list targeting possible sources of funding for Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

The head of Al-Taqwa, Yousef Nada, an Egyptian based in Lugano, Switzerland, has denied any links with Al-Qaeda. Mr Nada believes he has been singled out because of “guilt by association” since he is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was detained by Swiss police on Wednesday, but later released.

In Dubai, the UAE government was reported to have seized the assets and records of Al-Barakaat, and Saudi Arabia and Indonesia were also said to be cooperating in the US-led financial drive.

The Al-Rashid Trust in Pakistan and a hawala’s trader based in Quetta were previously named in the treasury department list. A large number of Pakistanis living and working in the US and in the Gulf countries depend on “hawala” outlets for home remittances, particularly those destined for the remoter, rural areas that do not have regular banking channels.

NEW SERVICE: The House of Representatives has voted to create a Radio Free Afghanistan to beam news and other programmes to Afghans in their own language. The move, on which the State Department expressed reservations, now goes for approval to the Senate.