Hizbul’s role in counterfeiting confirmed

Once a relatively poor terrorist organization that relied on a monthly grant of $5,000 from Pakistan’s ISI spy service, the Kashmir-based terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen has moved on to three more lucrative methods of financing itself:  1) receiving zakat donations transmitted through hawala from charitable fronts sponsored by Pakistan, 2) engaging in the profitable animal skin trade, and 3) flooding India with counterfeit money, devaluing the rupee, and enriching themselves in the process.

From India Today on May 24 (h/t El Grillo):

Hizbul Mujahideen circulating fake currency in India, reveals NIA investigation

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has established a clear link between Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir-based terror outfits pooling their resources to circulate fake Indian currency and using it to fund jihadi activities in India.

In a case related to smuggling of counterfeit currency, the NIA’s probe has revealed the role of Hizbul Mujahideen, which operates from J&K, in circulating fake currency.

Completing the investigation in the case registered in 2011, the NIA filed a final supplementary chargesheet in a Jammu court last month. The document exposes Hizbul hand in using fake currency to finance its terror activities.

The chargesheet states that “Fake Indian currency is being used being used by terrorist organisations to damage the economy of India and finance terrorist activities of their cadre operating in India”.

While the chargesheet stops short of naming Pakistan, sources said the trail of counterfeit currency from the neighbour country in West Bengal and then in India has been well-established.

“Through the Bangladesh border, it (fake Indian currency) was being pumped into India from West Bengal. It was being funnelled via Delhi to terror groups like Hizbul Mujahideen,” an officer from NIA said.

Sources said selling of fake currency in return for genuine currency gives huge returns, which can be used by terror organisations…

Front group finance: recommended reading

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• No longer confined to the blogosphere, the Associated Press reports on the legal battle between a Christian publisher and a terror-linked Muslim syndicate… more>>

Rivers of fake money flow into India

A flood of counterfeit notes from Dubai, Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir, Nepal, Bangladesh, and to some extent from Sri Lanka have left Indians swimming in a pool of devalued rupees.

The fake Indian currency note crisis is benefiting terrorist organizations such as Hizbul Mujahideen and Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Gang with backing from the Pakistani ISI spy service.  Profits from counterfeiting help militants buy weapons.

There seems to be a new story from Indian media every two weeks or so documenting the surging problem.  Here’s the latest from the Times of India, which illustrates both the J&K and Bangladeshi points of ingress for bogus bills, and the jihadist beneficiaries:

NIA files charges against 3 for raising terror funds for Hizbul Mujahideen

TNN Apr 12, 2013

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed charge sheet against three more persons, including a Bangladeshi national, for allegedly raising terror fund for the banned outfit Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) through circulation of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) in Jammu & Kashmir.

The charge sheet against the three accused Badal Sheikh and Fayaz Ahmed (both Indians) and Shafiq-ul (Bangladeshi) was filed in the NIA Special Court in Jammu under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code and the central anti-terror Act on Wednesday.

The Court subsequently issued a non-bailable warrant against absconding Shafiq-ul who was key point person of the Indian accused for supplying FICN through a trans-border cattle smuggler – Badal Sheikh — of West Bengal’s Malda district.

Earlier, the probe agency had filed charge sheet against five persons in the case, alleging that the accused used to procure and supply high quality FICN from Bangladesh and smuggle it into Jammu & Kashmir for raising funds for the terror group.

The five who were charge sheeted earlier include two HM members – Mubarak Ahmed Bhat and Shafaqat Mohiudding Kuchey – and Badal Sheikh.

The NIA in its charge sheet claimed that HM operatives had first contacted Badal who, in turn, approached the Bangladeshi national for procurement of FICN.

“Fayaz Ahmed Rather – a notorious FICN smuggler – started getting high quality fake Indian currency notes from Malda and circulate it in Jammu & Kashmir,” said the NIA.

It’s interesting to note the cattle rustling connection in this story.  The black market in cows, which are revered and illegal to export from India, is a growing area for illicit trade along the border of India and Bangladesh.

A profile of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s paymasters

Lashkar-e-Taiba logo

In addition to expatriate donors such as Tahawwur Rana, charity funneled through its Jamaat-ud-Dawa front group, private donors from rich Arabs in the Gulf, zakat collections in Kashmiri mosques, and hawala, the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (meaning Army of the Pure) relies on state sponsorship from the Pakistan’s ISI spy service.

The Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups says that LeT “was founded in 1987 with funding provided by Saudi Islamist Osama bin laden.  Both financial and material support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba has also come from the Pakistan security forces Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).”

In his book Obama’s War, investigative journalist Bob Woodward says LeT “was created and continues to be supported by the Pakistani ISI.”

Asia Times provided these details last year about LeT’s financing:

…LeT runs a number of training centers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwah province, Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The objective is to have an office and a center in every district of Pakistan. LeT spends about US$330 on each trainee for its Daura-e-Aam (basic) course and about $1,700 per trainee in the advanced three-month course, with running costs in excess of $5 million a year.

The army and the ISI make contributions at training camps, with Pakistan’s Herald Magazine reporting in June 2006 that ISI payoffs have reached as much as $50,000-60,000 every month. The other key source of LeT money is Islamic charities across the world, particularly those based in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) . Inside Pakistan, LeT acts primarily as a Dawa group promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, much on the lines of its Wahhabi patrons in the Gulf.

These links brings LeT an enormous amount of petro-dollars through donations to madrassas and mosques in Punjab. In 2008, the US estimated these funds at over $100 million a year. Some Pakistani business houses in Punjab also support the group by giving money and food…

If the estimate is accurate that Lashkar-e-Taiba receives over $100 million a year, that would place LeT it in the top tier of the best financed terrorist organizations in the world above al-Shabaab and closing in on Hamas.

LeT’s stated objective is:

[U]niting Indian administered Kashmir (IAK) with Pakistan under a radical interpretation of Islamic law. LeT’s broader objectives include to establish an Islamic Caliphate across the Indian subcontinent, and to reclaim all ‘occupied Muslim lands’ in southern Spain and the Balkans. To this end, LeT intends to pursue the ‘liberation’, not only of Muslim-majority Kashmir, but of all India’s Muslim population, even in areas where they do not form a majority. LeT has declared that democracy is antithetical to Islamic law and that LeT’s jihad requires it to work toward turning Pakistan itself into a purely Islamic state.

All previous Money Jihad coverage of LeT can be found here.

Pakistani “charity” funds terror training camps

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir hosts rallies to enlist support for Lashkar-e-Taiba training camps.  Current and former government officials from Pakistan are involved.  Money for the camps is passed through Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an Islamic charity.  Local residents say the jihadist militants now live in luxury from the proceeds.  From HalalPorkShop via Patria Judía:

See prior Money Jihad coverage of Jamaat-ud-Dawa here.  This is another illustration of how zakat funds terrorism against “infidel” nations like India.  The 26/11 terrorist attacks against Mumbai were financed through these Kashmir jihadist activities.

Geelani hawala trial will proceed

This trial concerns the transfer of 4.57 crore (ten million) Indian rupees, or approximately one million USD, through the traditional Islamic money system known as hawala, from Pakistan to India to fuel hardline jihadists in their terrorist pursuit of independence for Kashmir.  Hawala is a very common method of supporting the ongoing jihad by Muslims against India, and has been a central funding mechanism behind the terrorist attacks in India.

From The Hindu on Feb. 19:

A court here on Saturday decided to place on trial a close associate of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and three other accused for allegedly running a hawala racket that channelled money from Pakistan to India to fund terror activities.

Special National Investigation Agency Judge H.S. Sharma ordered framing of charges against Geelani-aide Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, Mohammed Sidiq Ganai, Ghulam Jeelani Liloo and Farooq Ahmed Dagga on March 3 under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The NIA had on July 20 filed its charge sheet alleging that Rs.4.57 crore was transferred from Pakistan through hawala channels from 2008 for funding terror activities in Kashmir. The case was initially registered by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on January 16, 2011. The Special Cell arrested the four persons in Srinagar on January 22, 2011, and allegedly recovered Rs.21.20 lakh, mobile phone sets, SIM cards and other incriminating materials from them. The NIA took over the case on April 25. Both agencies are believed to have questioned Mr. Geelani, who reportedly told them he received funds from various sources but had no links with Mr. Bhat’s alleged hawala transactions.

The NIA had said the accused persons “hatched a criminal conspiracy for collecting funds from Pakistan through the hawala channels, to disburse among separatist leaders, members of terrorist organisations and others for the purpose of promoting terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. The money seized was meant for inciting secessionist activities and fuelling terrorism in the State.”

Hizbul Mujahideen enriched by Pak hawala

Indian television is reporting that over 80 crore (800 million) rupees from a Rawalpindi entity known as the Jammu and Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust has been transferred through hawala to the terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen.  Pakistan’s spy agency, the ISI, is thought to be ultimately behind the transfer.  Money Jihad covered a similar revelation last year that the ISI was using Delhi as a hawala hub to finance the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Zafar Iqbal, Lashkar-e-Taiba money man

Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and is one of the richest terror organizations in South Asia.

One man partly responsible for LeT’s wealth is Zafar Iqbal, a terror fundraiser, terror training camp patron, and madrassa curriculum chief.  In its press release describing the designation of Zafar Iqbal as a terrorist, the U.S. Treasury Department described him this way:

Zafar Iqbal is a senior leader and co-founder of LET, has served in various LET/JUD senior leadership positions and was once considered LET/JUD’s second-in-command.  As of late 2010, Iqbal was in charge of LET/JUD’s finance department. Zafar Iqbal has also been involved in LET/JUD fundraising activities. As of 2008, he was identified as LET/JUD’s chief of fundraising, and in 2010, Iqbal was overseeing the construction of an LET/JUD facility.

From 2003 to 2010, Iqbal was also the director of LET/JUD’s education department. In this capacity, Iqbal has been involved in recruiting activities on behalf of the group and has prepared the curricula for schools run by LET/JUD in Pakistan. As of 2010, Iqbal was a joint secretary of a university trust created by LET/JUD to carry out activities on behalf of the group.

Iqbal formed LET in the late 1980s with current LET/JUD emir Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, designated by the U.S. pursuant to E.O. 13224 in May 2008, and by the UN in December 2008. In 1989 or 1990, Iqbal traveled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with LET/JUD emir Hafiz Muhammad Saeed to request financial support from Usama bin Laden.

Our prior coverage has revealed that Lashkar-e-Taiba has received funding from zakat collections in Kashmiri mosques, hawala, and donations from rich Arabs in the Gulf…

Note:  The above bum is not Zafar Iqbal, but some other Lashkar-e-Taiba goon displaying his love of jihad for the camera.

IRW excludes Kashmir from India map

Islamic Relief Worldwide, which is one of the world’s largest Islamic charities, depicts Kashmir as a separate country from India on its website.  This puts IRW in line with Muslim Kashmiri separatists.  Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising given IRW’s history of aiding Hamas and having Muslim Brotherhood associates serving as leaders in IRW.

This map appears on IRW’s “Who We Are/About Us” page.  IRW puts a thin little white line between India and the Kashmir territory which India itself administers:

Kashmir is a territory of India although Pakistan disputes it.  Official United States maps show Kashmir as being part of India.  IRW is based in the U.K. but has partner offices in the U.S. and around the world.

If IRW sends money to Kashmir, and if IRW believes that Kashmir isn’t part of India, exactly what kind of groups and what kind of causes is IRW funding there?  It doesn’t take much imagination to figure it out.

Anti-India media mogul reports on his own charity’s collections

Majid Nizami, “Editor-in-Chief” and publisher of the Pakistani newspaper The Nation and several other periodicals within the Nawa-i-Waqt Group of Publications, operates his own charity called Nawa-i-Waqt.

The Nation has just highlighted the latest donations to Nawa-i-Waqt without bothering to disclose that the newspaper runs the charity.  This simple item appeared on Aug. 12:

Nawa-i-Waqt Relief Fund

LAHORE (PR) – A sum of Rs 58,000 was donated to Nawa-i-Waqt Relief Fund on Thursday. The details are as under:-
FLOOD RELIEF FUND: Muhammad Asghar Nadeem donated Rs 10,000, Ms Nageena Chaudhry Rs 8,000, and Syed Tasadduq Hussain Gillani from Mirpur donated Rs 10,000.
FUNDS FOR STRANDED PAKISTANIS IN BANGLAD-ESH: Ahsan Nadeem donated Rs 10,000, Mrs Rifat Rs 10,000, and Syed Tasadduq Hussain Gillani from Mirpur donated Rs 10,000.

Majid Nizami hates India, refuses to travel there, and insists that Kashmir is the “jugular vein” of Pakistan and must become part of Pakistan.

Many of the donations he collects fund separatist Kashmiri endeavors.

Lashkar-e-Taiba scores millions through hawala

Millions of rupees have been transferred by the traditional Islamic method of hawala by Kashmiri militants to jihad groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen between 2008 and 2011, according to charges filed in an Indian court.  Pakistan’s spy agency ISI was implicated in a separate hawala plot on behalf of Hizbul Mujahideen earlier this year.  This latest finding comes from the Kashmir Observer:

Srinagar, Aug 03, KONS: The National Investigating Agency has filed a charge sheet against four separatist leaders of Kashmir in connection with an alleged hawala reacket involving crores of rupees even as investigation against the Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, is being speeded up.

According to the local news agency, Kashmir News Service, the 40-page charge sheet has been filed in a New Delhi court against the Hurriyat (G) legal advisor, Ghulam Muhammad Bhat; Peoples League leader, Muhammad Siddiq Ganai, and Ghulam Jeelani Leelo and Farooq Ahmad Dagga. Syed Ali Geelani is also being questioned in connection with the case.

Quoting New Delhi-based NIA sources, KNS said Rs 4,57,40,000. had allegedly been sent from Pakistan and Pak-administered Kashmir to militants of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen and some separatist leaders through various conduits between 2008 and 2011. A prominent Hizb activist based in PaK, Muhammad Maqbool Pandit, has allegedly played a key role in the operation. He is believed to have developed contacts in New Delhi and several other Indian cities, the report circulated by KNS said.

The report, quoting NIA officials, said Ghulam Muhammad Bhat was a member of Jama’at-e-Islami and he had joined Geelani’s Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in 2003.

Reports said Jameela Khan wife of Ghulam Muhammad Bhat arrested had been taken into custody near Udhampur in 2007 when she was traveling in a TATA Sumo and a sum of Rs 46,89,500 had allegedly been seized which she had concealed in a CNG cylinder. The money was reportedly meant for Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Meanwhile, Geelani has denied the allegation saying these aimed at maligning him and the people’s movement.

Though widespread, hawala is essentially illegal in India.