Saudi lie exposed

A revelation from the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report has been making the rounds through the blogosphere (Counterterrorism Blog, Creeping Sharia, etc) about a relatively new International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) branch office in Florida.  IIRO is a Saudi-based “charity” that stinks like a skunk from its jihadist financial ties.

What has not received sufficient attention, to the best of my knowledge, is the timeline of IIRO’s return to the U.S.

In December 2008, Saudi Arabia changed its banking regulations to require the IIRO to receive approval from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA)—the Saudi central bank—in order to transfer any funds from IIRO outside the Kingdom.

In April 2009, this new U.S. branch of IIRO incorporated in Florida.  We know it made at least one expenditure—the incorporation fee itself.

In July 2009, Saudi officials told the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that, “the Saudi government had not approved any transfer of funds from charities and multilateral charitable organizations to support charitable activities outside of Saudi Arabia.”

I get these dates from the Florida filing itself and from the GAO’s report last September.  Here’s the most relevant passage from the GAO report:

[I]n rules dated December 2008, the government of Saudi Arabia updated its banking regulations to include specific language related to multilateral organizations, including Muslim World League, IIRO, and World Assembly of Muslim Youth. The rules state that transfers from the accounts of these multilateral organizations to any party outside of the Kingdom shall not be allowed without approval from SAMA, and that any contributions approved for transfer may only be used in ways as specified by SAMA. Saudi officials from SAMA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with whom we spoke told us that no charitable contributions, including those from multilateral charitable organizations, can be sent abroad through bank accounts without the approval of the Saudi government. Moreover, Saudi officials told us that, as of July 2009, the Saudi government had not approved any transfer of funds from charities and multilateral charitable organizations to support charitable activities outside of Saudi Arabia. While the Saudi government has not approved the transfer of funds, they have approved overseas transfers of in-kind humanitarian assistance, such as medical supplies or blankets, through the Saudi Red Crescent Society. State reporting acknowledges the Saudi government tightened controls on charitable giving in September 2008.

Being “charitable” myself, I can come up with three possible (and chilling) explanations for this, um, discrepancy:  1)  The Saudi officials out-and-out lied to the GAO.  2)  The IIRO illegally circumvented the Saudi requirement for SAMA approval.  3)  Technically, funds may not have been “transferred” from Saudi Arabia to Florida.  Dr. Malik S. Khan, a self-proclaimed U.S. “resident,” (he does not use the term citizen or legal resident) is the person who filed for incorporation, and he’ll probably come out and argue that he paid the fee himself to give the Saudi officials an alabi.

Any of these explanations is a nightmare.  Even if the third explanation is true, that is still disturbing because it would mean that non-Saudi chapters of the IIRO are raising and expending funds without even the SAMA fig leaf.

This is an outright scandal.  For years, the U.S. tried to get Saudi Arabia to establish a “Charity Commission” to oversee all Saudi charitable activities.  The mulish Saudi royals resisted.  Finally, in 2008, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia came to the compromise whereby SAMA would approve charitable activities.  Now we find out that not only haven’t they done that, but that the Saudi government is covering-up the continued failure.

Saudi Arabian financial measures don’t deserve any more pats on the back from Forbes, Deutsche Welle, or U.S. officials.  Saudi officials deserve immediate condemnation for a major reversal in the global effort to crackdown on jihadist financing.