Foreign Affairs Minister Suruj Rambachan on Friday told the House of Representatives that Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi channeled money to the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen through a Canadian charity, citing a report in a Canadian newspaper.
He said the money was to be used by the Muslimeen to support terrorism.
Quoting from an article entitled "Gadaffi charity in Canada linked to terrorism", published on May 7, 2011, in the Ottawa Citizen, Rambachan said the Stephen Harper Government had revoked the registration of a longtime Canada charity which was serving as a front by the Libyan leader to finance terrorism.
He said the money was to be used by the Muslimeen to support terrorism.
Quoting from an article entitled "Gadaffi charity in Canada linked to terrorism", published on May 7, 2011, in the Ottawa Citizen, Rambachan said the Stephen Harper Government had revoked the registration of a longtime Canada charity which was serving as a front by the Libyan leader to finance terrorism.
The article stated that among groups that received funding were a Muslim militant cell, implicated in the 2007 plot to blow up JFK airport and the Muslimeen.
"The payment of Can$170,814.20 was made to the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen, a terrorist group known for a campaign of rape, torture and murder, according to the documents. The same group was attempting to overthrow the elected Government of Trinidad and Tobago," Rambachan said.
The report stated that Canada's Revenue Agency's financial documents showed that the Canadian charity transferred Can$10,000 directly to Yasin Abu Bakr.
JYOTI reported the story last month, also citing the Citizen newspaper.
Read the story: Canadian gov't closes charity that sent Libyan funds to Muslimeen and its leader in T&T
Rambachan was speaking in the debate on the Anti-Terrorism bill, which proposes a $2 million fine and imprisonment for seven years for breaches of certain provisions of the legislation.
In piloting the measure, Sandy stated that the bill was designed to implement measures to identify and freeze terrorist assets without delay, to bring Trinidad and Tobago into further compliance with international standards on the financing of terrorism, specifically UN Security Council Resolution 1267 and 1373.
Opposition MP Donna Cox called on the government to establish an independent body to ensure that no one abuses the powers bestowed by the act.
She observed that the bill would create a huge amount of paperwork for citizens, financial institutions and listed business.
Cox agreed on the need to be more vigilant about charitable organisations and advised Government to pay special attention to charitable donations. She said an international report on SouthEast Asia states that charities are the second most common form of terrorist activity.
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