The Bush administration froze the assets of more than three dozen people, businesses and charitable organizations Friday and said it has gained the cooperation of 110 nations in its "financial war" against Osama Bin Laden and other accused terrorists.
Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill signed the so-called blocking order early Friday morning, alerting U.S. financial institutions to freeze any assets held by 39 people and organizations.
The list included several alleged senior aides to Bin Laden, whom authorities have accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and three honey distributors that Treasury officials said Bin Laden used as conduits to surreptitiously move money and perhaps even weapons.
At a news briefing, O'Neill described all of those whose accounts were frozen as "wanted terrorists" or those suspected of financially supporting terrorists.
The agency also sent the list to other countries, asking them to freeze all assets of the groups and individuals.
In another development, authorities on Friday unsealed a federal indictment in Arizona against Faisal Michael Al Salmi, a Tempe man who allegedly lied to investigators about whether he knew one of the hijackers.
At the Treasury briefing, Undersecretary for International Affairs John B. Taylor said the U.S. effort to involve other nations in its crackdown on terrorist financial networks was gaining more participants by the day. At least 66 nations now have in place blocking mechanisms to freeze the assets of terrorists, and another 54 countries have committed to join in the effort, he said.
As of Friday, the United States and its allies had frozen about $24 million in assets--linked to Bin Laden's network, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that supports it and other suspected terrorists--since the terrorist attacks, Treasury officials said. At least $4 million of that has been frozen in the United States, they said.
"The civilized world has spoken with one voice; individuals and organizations that infuse these terrorist organizations with money are no better than the terrorists perpetrating these acts," said Jimmy Gurule, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for enforcement. "We will shut down their fund-raising and expel them from the global financial system. Today we have taken a giant step forward in that direction."
