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b6 b7C Primary Allegations Under Investigation. In order to determine the validity of the allegations that. have become so prevalent in the media's reporting of west Africa and. al Qaeda's alternative financing operations, the FBI set forth to conduct an in depth investigation related specifically to the following predominant allegations:. 11 all East African embassy bombing fugitives) spent time in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Burkina Faso, during different periods from September 1998 through 200l, in order to purchase diamonds from the RUF rebels; and (2) that these al Qaeda operatives entered the rough diamond trade and cornered the West .African diamond market in Antwerp, Brussels, during the summer of 2ool, in an attempt to thwart anticipated law enforcement efforts in the wake of the attacks which were to occur on 9/11/2o0l.. While the FBl focused it efforts on fully examining the. leads related to the above listed allegations, significant overlap existed to allow for further examination into the potential terrorist exploitation of the West African region as well as the use of the particular resource, diamonds, to fund terrorist operations. This investigation covered not only interviews of those most knowledgeable with the diamond trade in the region during the relevant time period, but also obtained information from those responsible with enforcing the laws and maintaining the intelligence base for the regions affected by diamond trafficking and terrorist activity. Furthermore, the FBI interviewed or directed questions to detainees knowledgeable with al Qaeda's finances. Overview of FBI Efforts. The FBr's Terrorist Financing Operations Section (TFos),in. concert with other agencies, has endeavored to determine the validity of these allegations. FBI efforts consisted of investigation in the U.S. and several foreign countries including Ghana, Belgium, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso. This comprehensive high-ranking RuF rebels to diamond dealers responsible for exporting an estimated 8o% of the diamonds mined in Sierra Leone. Also included in this investigation were over a dozen meetings with various law enforcement and intelligence officials. The FBi/TFos and others in the U.s. Intelligence Community, have interrogated numerous detainees believed to have significant financial knowledge of al Qaeda finances. These detainees specifically denied that al Qaeda used diamonds as a funding mechanism to support terrorism. 3