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Bin laden fortune didnt fund attacks Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10244526%255E2703,00.htmlhttp://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10244526%255E2703,00.html
Funding behind 9/11 still a mystery
From AFP
26jul04
WASHINGTON: Despite almost three years pursuing the September 11 "money trail", investigators remain in the dark about who financed the 2001 al-Qa'ida strike on the US that killed 2973 people.
The final report of the September 11 commission indicates that the FBI, CIA and numerous US and foreign intelligence agencies failed to find a definitive answer as to who paid for the attacks.
"To date, the US Government has not been able to determine the origin of the money used for the 9/11 attacks," the report said.
"The origin of the funds remains unknown, although we have a general idea of how al-Qa'ida financed itself during the period leading up to 9/11."
The report, released late last week, does shed some light on the finances of al-Qa'ida and the resources of its leader Osama bin Laden, suggesting his personal fortune was not as great as some had believed.
Much of the information about the finances comes from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former al-Qa'ida commander who orchestrated the attacks and arranged financing, but who has refused to divulge the source of the funds.
Referred to as KSM in the report, Khalid was captured in Pakistan last year. The report traces the funding through several sources around the world, including Dubai, Germany and Pakistan, and back to KSM, but no further.
The 19 hijackers and al-Qa'ida spent a relatively modest $US400,000-$US500,000 ($560,000-$700,000) to plan and conduct the devastating attack, the commission report said. About $US270,000 of that was spent in the US.
The investigation uncovered "no credible evidence that any person in the United States gave the hijackers substantial financial assistance".
"Similarly, we have seen no evidence that any foreign government - or foreign government official - supplied any funding," the report said.
The report dismissed the conventional wisdom that bin Laden inherited $US300million when his property mogul father died. In fact, between 1970 and 1994, he received about $US1million per year - "a significant sum, to be sure, but not a $US300 million fortune that could be used to fund jihad".
The commission concluded that the bulk of al-Qa'ida's money came from "corrupt" Islamic charities and wealthy individuals in the Gulf region, particularly in bin Laden's native Saudi Arabia.
Contrary to many reports, the commission found there was no evidence that the hijackers used false social security numbers to open bank accounts in the US.
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