The Ottawa Citizen reported on Saturday that the Canadian government has revoked the registration of the longtime Canadian charity that it says was established as a front by Gadhafi to funnel money to terrorists all over the world.
One of the groups that received money from the World Islamic Call Society was the Muslim militant cell implicated in a 2007 plot to blow up JFK airport in New York City, the paper stated.
"According to government documents obtained by the Citizen, the World Islamic Call Society, based in London, Ont., has been transferring money from Gadhafi's "Jihad fund" to bank accounts of known terrorists," the paper said.
It mentioned the Trinidad and Tobago group that tried to overthrow the government in 1990. The failed coup is now the subject of a commission of inquiry established by the new People's Partnership government.
According to the Citizen, "A payment of $170,814.20 was made to Jamaat al-Muslimeen, a terrorist group known for a campaign of rape, torture and murder, according to the documents. This same group once attempted to overthrow the elected government of Trinidad and Tobago."
It added, "Canada Revenue Agency financial documents also show that the Canadian charity transferred $10,000 directly to the terrorist group's leader, Yasin Abu Bakr."
The paper said money was wired in U.S. funds to the personal bank account of Assem Fadel, then transferred to the bank account of the World Islamic Call Society's Canadian branch, to be distributed to known terrorist organizations, citing federal government files.
It said Fadel, 75, is the president of the Islamic Call Society's sole Canadian franchise, located on Kent Street in London, in the Canadian province of Ontario.
"The allegations are unbelievable," Fadel said, when told the society had been linked to the JFK plot, the paper reported.
The paper said when it asked Fadel why money from Gadhafi's jihad fund would be transferred to his own bank account and then deposited into the charity's bank account, Fadel explained that he handled the money personally because the deposits were in U.S. funds.
"The charity doesn't have a U.S. bank account so the money came to me and I distributed the money as directed by the mother organization in Libya," Fadel said.
The Citizen quoted Fadel as saying he will not appeal the government's March 26 ruling to revoke the registration of his charity, saying it's too much of a "hassle."
"We'll just keep doing our work without the charitable status," said Fadel, who last saw Gadhafi in Tripoli on Feb. 14.
The Citizen said Gadhafi's mother organization, which he formed in 1972 to spread Muslim culture around the world, was the charity's only donor and that
Gadhafi wires money to the organization once a year.
The Citizen said documents show that Fadel wired the Gadhafi funds to organizations and individuals in the United States, Trinidad and Egypt.
However, it said Fadel insisted that none of the money financed terrorism. He said most of the Gadhafi money was used for conferences held to properly explain the Muslim faith.
"The Muslim faith is the most misunderstood religion in the world, but once Christians sit down and talk with us about issues, they understand," Fadel told the paper.
The Citizen reported that the Harper government did not believe the charity was actually doing any charity work.
"In reaching this position, we have looked at both the organization's present and past operations and believe that, on a balance of probabilities, it is logical and reasonable to assume that the society was established and sought registration in order to support the non-charitable goals and operations of its parent organization, WICS-Libya, an organization operated on behalf of the Government of Libya, and that the Society's primary function has been to operate at the direction and on behalf of WICS-Libya," the government wrote in an analysis used to revoke the registration of the charity.
The revocation letter to Gadhafi's charity was signed by an official from the Canadian government, but the signature is blacked out for security reasons, the Citizen stated.
Read the full report in the OTTAWA CITIZEN
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