Dubai: Two Al Qaida supporters in Qatar and Yemen have been added to the US Treasury Department list of terrorists.
Abdul Rahman Bin Umair Al Nuaimi, 59, and Abdul Wahab Mohammad Abdul Rahman Al Humaiqani, 41, were designated global terrorists for allegedly being “at the centre of global support networks that fund and facilitate terrorism.”
“Al Nuaimi was designated for providing financial support to Al Qaida, Asbat Al Ansar, Al Qaida in Iraq, and Al Shabab, and Al Humaiqani was designated for providing financial support to and acting on behalf of Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP),” the Treasury said in a statement released on Wednesday in Washington.
“Al Nuaimi is a Qatar-based terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided money and material support and conveyed communications to Al Qaida and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade. He was considered among the most prominent Qatar-based supporters of Iraqi Sunni extremists,” the statement said.
In 2013, Al Nuaimi ordered the transfer of nearly $600,000 (Dh2.2 million) to Al Qaida via Al Qaida’s representative in Syria, Abu Khalid Al Suri, and intended to transfer nearly $50,000 more.
According to the Treasury, Al Nuaimi has facilitated significant financial support to Al Qaida in Iraq, and served as an interlocutor between Al Qaida in Iraq leaders and Qatar-based donors.
“Al Nuaimi reportedly oversaw the transfer of over $2 million per month to Al Qaida in Iraq for a period of time. He also served as an interlocutor between these Qatari nationals and leaders of Al Qaida in Iraq. Between 2003 and 2004, Al Nuaimi provided support to the Iraqi insurgency more broadly and served as a conduit for their broadcast materials to media outlets.”
It added that Al Nuaimi “as of mid-2012 provided approximately $250,000 to two US-designated Al Shabab figures, Mokhtar Robow and Shaikh Hassan Awais Ali, the latter of whom is also designated by the United Nations (UN).”
“Also in 2012, Al Nuaimi provided financial support to a charity headed by Yemen-based Abdul Wahab Mohammad Abdul Rahman Al Humaiqani, who channelled funding to AQAP,” it said.
Humaiqani has used his Yemen-based charity as a cover for funnelling financial support to AQAP and has frequently travelled throughout the Arabian Peninsula while conducting business for AQAP, the Treasury said.
“During political unrest in Yemen, Al Humaiqani reportedly assisted AQAP in gaining a foothold and safe haven in Al Bayda Governorate, Yemen, and as of mid-2011 served as the acting AQAP emir there,” it said.
The Treasury said that it was “essential for countries to take proactive steps to disrupt terrorist financing, especially where Al Qaida and its affiliates are concerned.”
“We will continue to work with our partners in the Gulf to ensure that charitable donations are not used to support violence in the region or elsewhere,” David S Cohen, the Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said.
The Treasury action freezes any assets an individual on the terror list might have under US jurisdiction and prohibits US citizens from dealing with them.
The State Department designations bar anyone from providing support or resources to the designee.
