Terror Suspect’s Kin Arrested in Funds Case

Three relatives of a man accused of belonging to an Al Qaeda terror cell in the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna were arrested by federal agents Tuesday and charged with illegally sending money out of the country.

U.S. Atty. Michael Battle said there is no allegation that the money sent to Yemen was used to fund terrorists.

Mohamed Albanna, a leader in the area’s Yemeni community and an uncle of a man still being hunted by U.S. authorities, was seized by Customs and Drug Enforcement Administration agents in the doorway of his Buffalo store, the Queen City Cigarettes and Candy Co.

His younger brother, 29-year-old Ali Albanna, and a 52-year-old cousin, Ali Taher Elbaneh, also were arrested.

All three were indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge that they sent more than $480,000 to Yemen without a license to operate a money-transferring business, which is required by state law.

All three pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in front of U.S. District Judge Hugh Scott. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Scott ordered the men held until a hearing today.

Federal prosecutor Timothy Lynch said the men sent the money out of the country from October to December. He said Mohamed Albanna has allegedly been transferring money illegally for two to three years.

During a series of raids Tuesday, $130,000 was confiscated from Mohamed Albanna’s bank account and an additional $51,000 from his cigarette and candy business.

The Albannas’ nephew, Jaber Elbaneh, an alleged member of the Lackawanna cell, was last reported at large in Yemen, according to U.S. officials.

Six others from Lackawanna, all Yemeni American men in their 20s, were arrested in September and charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors say they visited an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in the spring of 2001 that was attended by Osama bin Laden.

Mohamed Albanna has been the face of the local Yemeni community and an outspoken advocate for the men since their September arrest. He has attended every hearing and continuously proclaimed their innocence.

The alleged leader of the local cell, Yemeni American Kamal Derwish, was believed killed in a CIA airstrike on Nov. 3 in Yemen, U.S. officials have said.

The six men now in custody could get up to 15 years in prison if convicted under a 1996 law that prohibits giving support to foreign terrorist organizations.