Five Indicted in Islamic-Charity Case

Five men with ties to a recently dissolved Islamic charity in Missouri have been indicted on 33 counts that they illegally channeled money to Iraq and stole funds, reports The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Specifically, five officials at the Islamic American Relief Agency were charged with “money laundering, theft of government funds, making false statements to federal authorities, and obstructing the administration of Internal Revenue Service laws, among other things.”

The men allegedly transferred $1.4-million raised for charitable purposes to Iraq between 1991 and 2003, when U.S. sanctions against Saddam Hussein made such activities illegal.

A lawyer for the relief agency acknowledged the tax-code violations but said charges of supporting terrorism were unfounded. None of the men indicted commented in the article.

Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s coverage of the increased scrutiny of Islamic charities and a chart detailing a number of Islamic charities that the government has shut down.

(A paid subscription is required to view the Chronicle articles.)