Ahmed Huber - Accusation of Involvement With Al Qaeda

Accusation of Involvement With Al Qaeda

Huber was one of five individuals who founded the Al Taqwa Bank in Lugano in 1988, although it was based in the Bahamas for tax purposes. Several of the other individuals involved were members of the Muslim Brotherhood. As early as 1996, it was claimed that Al Taqwa handled finances for individuals linked to Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, as well as Islamist groups in several other countries.

On 23 September 2001, President George W. Bush announced that Al Taqwa had assisted Al Qaeda in moving funds around the world, and its assets were frozen. This resulted in the Swiss authorities raiding the Al Taqwa offices in December 2001. Huber himself was named by the U.S. government on 7 November 2001 as an individual with links to Al Qaeda. Huber did profess admiration for Osama bin Laden, and had admitted to meeting with bin Laden sympathizers in Lebanon before the September 11 attacks, but he rejected the notion that either himself or Al Taqwa had any direct involvement with Al Qaeda. Despite an investigation of Huber by the Swiss government, no evidence was ever produced which proved his involvement with the organization. As the U.S. government never provided the Swiss with any evidence of its own against Huber, no criminal charges were ever filed against him, although he was restricted from traveling abroad in May 2002, and this ban remained in place for the remainder of his life. Huber always maintained that the U.S. accusations were lies, and that Al Taqwa was only involved with various Muslim charities. In August 2010, the United Nations removed Al Taqwa from its list of organizations which provide support to terrorism.

Huber told author George Michael that he believed the September 11 attacks were the result of a joint effort carried out by Muslims and American extremists working together. He said that, prior to 2001, he had talked to Rightists and Muslims in the U.S. who told him that a plan, similar to the attack on Pearl Harbor, was being prepared by them which would serve to "wake up the American people" to the Zionist domination of America. Huber further said that his American contacts had afterwards claimed responsibility for September 11 in telephone conversations with him, and that this attack was intended to lead the U.S. into "difficult days" which would result in a weakening of the United States, and would eventually bring about a Far Right revolution there.