Boston resident Mohamed Hussein, age 33, was convicted by a federal jury Tuesday, April 30, 2002, after a four-day trial on a two-count indictment charging him with running a foreign money transmittal business without a license issued by the state of Massachusetts. Hussein faces up to five years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on each count.
Hussein’s company, Barakaat North America Inc. was closed in mid-November 2001, as part of a nation-wide crackdown on money transfer operations suspected of funneling funds to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
According to the evidence presented at trial, in August 2000, Barakaat North America, Inc. filed an application with the Massachusetts Division of Banks and Loan Agencies for a license to receive deposits and transmit money overseas.
Under Massachusetts law it is a crime to operate a business that transmits funds overseas if one does not have a license to conduct such activities. Barakaat North America, Inc. never received a license from the state and was twice warned by the Massachusetts Division of Banks and Loan Agencies, in September 2000 and December 2000, that it was engaging in criminal conduct if it was operating without a license.
The jury concluded that Hussein, as the treasurer of Barakaat, continued to accept deposits from individuals and transmit the funds overseas. Barakaat wired nearly three million dollars to the Al-Baraka Exchange in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), although he had been notified that Barakaat was running an illegal operation.
Hussein’s brother, Liban Hussein, the president of Barakaat, was also charged in November of 2001 in the indictment. Those charges are still pending. Liban Hussein is currently in Canada awaiting an extradition hearing. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
