Bahrain's government Sunday ordered the freezing of accounts of individuals and groups suspected of financing terrorist activities, the Gulf state's BNA news agency said.
It said that during the cabinet's weekly meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa ordered the Bahrain Monetary Agency (central bank) to "take all necessary measures, in compliance with international legitimacy, to freeze the money of any individual or organization linked to suspicious activities."
The move is "part of international efforts to crack down on financial support for terrorism," BNA quoted Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Ibrahim al-Mutawa as saying.
Bahrain, the Gulf's main banking center, is following in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates, whose central bank Thursday ordered the freezing of accounts and investments of 26 individuals and organizations suspected of financing terrorist activities.
The UN Security Council Friday adopted a resolution obliging UN member states to crack down on supporters of terrorist groups and threatening sanctions against countries that do not cooperate with the anti-terror campaign launched by the US in the wake of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
On September 24, US President George W. Bush ordered banks to freeze the US assets of Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the attacks, and 26 other individuals and groups seen as linked to terrorism and the attacks, and urged world governments to follow suit.
The head of the Bahrain-based Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (IBFI), Saleh Kamel, had on Monday denied that Islamic financial institutions were bankrolling terrorist activities -- MANAMA (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
