ALBANY (New York), Jan 4: Two mosque leaders, convicted of US money-laundering charges after a terrorism-related sting, have asked the judge to set aside the verdicts or grant them new trials.

The government accused Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain of participating in a money-laundering scheme in 2004 that included an FBI informant posing as an illegal arms dealer.

The informant had asked Hossain to launder $50,000, saying it was from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile that would be used to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York city. Aref acted as a witness to a series of transactions between the two men.

Hossain said he had merely asked the informant for a loan.

The men were accused of trying to provide support to Jaish-i-Mohammed of Pakistan listed by the US as a terrorist organisation.

In court papers filed on Sunday, defence attorney Kevin Luibrand said the facts did not support Hossain's convictions, arguing that Hossain was entrapped by authorities.—AP