◆ SpookStack

Yd r + The July 4, 2003, reporting by the Washington Post alleging that a year-long investigation by European law enforcement agencies revealed that Charles Taylor sold diamonds to al Qaeda in 2000 and 2001, is questionable. The FBI has conferred with FBI's Legal Attaches, the U.S. State Department, other U.S. agencies, and several of our foreign law enforcement counterparts in order to determine the source of this information. Based on this search, the only European law enforcement agency that has conducted a year-long investigation into this issue is the BFP and they specifically deny having developed any evidence to suggest al Qaeda's involvement in DE purchasing diamonds from Charles Taylor or the region. nIC The extensive investigation conducted by the FBI in this 57D matter contradicts the allegations raised by the various media and Global Witness reports. Based on the investigation conducted by the BFP, the media allegations detailing Nassour's involvement with diamond trafficking in exchange for weapons and equipment to the RUF is accurate; however, there is no evidence to support the allegations that al Qaeda operatives were involved in this operation. The witness identifications of al Qaeda fugitives were made after 9/11. Furthermore, with the exception off only two witnesses identified al Qaeda fugitives as being involve in diamond trafficking in West Africa. The senior RUF official's initial identification was made only after the U.N. Special Court's investigators showed the witness an FBI Most Wanted Terrorist oster, not a traditional law enforcement photo spread. CL [Ident ification was after he claimed he viewed the FBI's ted Poster on the Internet. Even though the two witnesses, cand the former senior RUF official, were involved in the same diamond trafficking operations during the same time frame, they identified different al Qaeda fugitives. Both witnesses based their identification on a one-time sighting of the individuals they later thought were al Qaeda fugitives. These witnesses did not have any further information concerning the individuals they saw and they were not aware if they purchased diamonds. Based on th investigation conducted, it is believed that as mistaken in his identity of the two al Qaeda TUgiItiVés med Ghailani and Fazul Mohammed, and was referring to Souley Guisse and Mouhamed Kenemi, the two Senegalese males brought in by Aziz Nassour. Conversely, the former senior icial denied seeing the two al Qaeda fugitives identified yy] but did identify a third al Qaeda fugitive Sheikh Ahmed, Salim Sweden. The for official met the man, he now believes to be Sweden, ehroush| | Le only one occasion, and he added that this person 1 1beria without consummating any diamond deals. The fo F official could not provide any further information, and after being shown a photograph of Sweden, denied ever seeing him. No witness confirmed seeing the al Qaeda fugitive Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah. 12 REQ 5-4a thru e 000000092