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estimated that ASA DIAMs business, during that time frame, was less than 25 million dollars. conflict diamonds throughout Africa may have been transferred to_ Lebanon, which is believed to be his current location since fleeing The -noted that profits Aziz Nassour made traffic C "7 Belgium. Thegcategorized the Washington Post's assertion that "al Qaeda opera es oversaw a 20 million dollars diamond buying spree that effectively cornered the market on the regions stones" as: ridiculous. They advised that it would take much more than this, ossibly billions of dollars, to corner the raw diamond market. The Q! added that during no time in 2091 was there any drying up, ndance, or unusual activity of Western African gems in the Antwerp market. also adviLed the FBI in April 2003, that any "drying up" of Sierra Leone diamonds or later increase in amounts exported could be explained by the hoarding of the raw stones prior to the Kimberly Process becoming effective and the U.N. sanctions being lifted during this period. y "recs FBI interviewed di in Sierra Leone. I They both advised that they closely monitor the West African diamond trade and did so even during the period the RUF controlled the mining areas of Kono and Tonga. They were not aware of any unusual fluctuations or "cornering" in the West African diamond market during 2001 or anything else out of the ordinary, including sales in gems in excess of one million dollars or any al Qaeda diamond purchasing in the region. Evaluation of Allegations Related to al Qaeda Cornering the West African Diamond Trade As a result of this investigation, the FBI has determined that there is no substance to the allegations that al Qaeda operatives purchased 20 million dollars in diamonds that cornered the market. The FBI has been in contact with.other intelligence, law enforcement, and regulatory agencies in the U.S. and abroad; none have identified the diamond/gemstone trade as a significant source of funding for al Qaeda. Possible Terrorist Group Funding Through Conflict Diamonds. 14 REQ 5'48 thru E 000000094 b6 b7C b7D