Single source reportedly funded hijackers

Thursday, 20 September 2001 4:19 (ET)

Single source reportedly funded hijackers

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- The 19 hijack suspects in last week's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon shared a single contact within the United States who provided them with cash, NBC News reported, citing federal officials.

The report said it is not clear how the source received the money, and whether that link in turn leads back to Osama bin Laden, a prime suspect in the investigation.

The contact was not named. The suicide hijackers used the money to pay for flight lessons, rent and even cash withdrawals at automatic teller machines.

The FBI and the Federal Reserve have sent letters to banks throughout the United States in an effort to track down any transactions by the hijackers.

Investigators were hopeful that recent changes in international banking agreements would make it easier to follow the money back to sources outside the United States, NBC said. If the source accounts can be identified, they are hopeful that they can be frozen, either by legal means or through diplomatic pressure.

Saudi Arabia said Wednesday that it would look into any allegations that funds from Saudi bank accounts were going to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization.

Bush administration officials told United Press International Tuesday that the Treasury Department and State Department were preparing a list of specific bank accounts they knew to be sending funds into bin Laden's network. -- Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved. --

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

Answers

The Florida connection:

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001