Terror Finance Case: "Operation Cash-Out"

By Jeffrey Imm

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced today that a federal grand jury indicted 39 defendants and one business in an international money laundering case that includes one person accused of concealing terrorist financing. The terror finance case, "Operation Cash-Out", had an international scope with defendants in United States, Spain, Canada and Belgium, with the use of hawala money-transmitting businesses to launder millions of dollars.

Substantive news reports on this came out today from: U.S. Attorney's Office press release, Baltimore Sun, ABC, and NBC, with a potentially related story in Spain reported by AP.

The Baltimore Sun reported that during a news conference on Thursday that 32 of the 39 defendants had been arrested in the past 24 hours: "U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said most of the defendants were under arrest -- at least 16 of them in Maryland -- and that an additional six had been arrested last night". NBC WBAL-11 TV reported that "[r]aids were conducted in Maryland, Washington D.C., New Jersey and Spain on Thursday". The U.S. Attorney's Office press release states that "Operation Cash-Out" includes a total of 46 defendents.

Per the U.S. Attorney's office on "Operation Cash-Out", "[t]he four indictments seek a total of $5,148,000 in criminal forfeitures and ownership interest in two convenience stores located in Snow Hill, Maryland. Five additional defendants have been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with bribery and one other with money laundering."

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said: "Operation Cash-Out was a wide-ranging undercover investigation that yielded evidence of four separate criminal schemes involving at least 46 defendants in the United States, Spain, Canada and Belgium. Three of the indictments involve money laundering hawala schemes exposed through an undercover investigation in which a cooperating witness pretended to operate a business engaged in criminal activity. The indictments allege that the hawala money-transmitting businesses laundered millions of dollars that they believed were the proceeds of illegal activities such as drug dealing, by accepting the money in the United States and returning it in other countries. One of the defendants, Saifullah Ranjha, is alleged to have laundered money that he believed was to be used by al Qaeda, a foreign terrorist organization. The fourth indictment alleges a scheme in which many defendants conspired to bribe public officials with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to illegally obtain green cards and the Maryland Comptroller's Office to receive abatement of taxes owed to the state."

The Baltimore Sun reports regarding "Operation Cash-Out": "[i]n most cases, the money laundering schemes used hawala, a system under which funds are transferred from one place to another, often different countries, through an informal network of people using codes. Although the system is not illegal, U.S. law demands that large money transfers to overseas locations be reported to federal officials and that such businesses have commercial licenses. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the hawala system has been suspected of playing a role in financing some terrorist activities.

It has not yet been reported whether the arrests in Spain today of 2 Pakistani nationals, Anar Muhammad Shan and Preces Mehmood Sandhu, on suspicion of being involved in financing international terrorism is a part of the "Operation Cash-Out" arrests. AP reports that in that case, "among items seized were documents showing $74,360 had been transferred to radical Islamic sympathizers in Arab countries and $9,820 in cash".

U.S. v. Saifullah Ranjha, et al. Indictment

The Baltimore Sun reported that defendant Saifullah Ranjha, who lives in Laurel, was charged with attempting to finance al-Qaida. The U.S. Attorney's office stated today that: "[a]ccording to the 31-count second superseding indictment returned in U.S. v. Saifullah Ranjha et al., Saifullah Ranjha operated Hamza, Inc., a money remitting business in Washington, D.C. From October 2003 to the present, Ranjha, Hamza, Inc. and five other defendants allegedly conspired to launder over $2.208 million received from a cooperating witness working with ICE and FBI agents. The money was purported to be the proceeds of drug trafficking, terrorist financing and trafficking in contraband cigarettes. Saifullah Ranjha, his brother Imdad Ranjha, and Muhammad Saqi obtained the money from the witness in Laurel, Maryland or at the Hamza, Inc. office in Washington, D.C."

Per the Baltimore Sun, "Ranjha took the bait, Rosenstein said. He and his associates received money.... from the undercover operative and, in return for a commission, arranged for it to be provided to others in Canada, England, Spain and other countries, Rosenstein said. There, the funds were ostensibly intended for illegal activities. 'He transmitted money that he believed was going to al-Qaida,' Rosenstein said of Ranjha. 'That was his crime.' "

NBC's WBAL-11 TV reported that "Ranjha relied primarily on a Canadian, Mazhar Chughtai, to arrange bank deposits, and provided the unidentified witness with coded contact information for associates in Canada, England, Spain, Pakistan and Australia."

U.S. v. Ahsan and Rehman Indictment

The U.S. Attorney's office stated: "Mohammad Ahsan owned and operated a money remitting business in Washington, D.C. known as Pak Exchange Services. From November 2004 to March 22, 2007, Abdul Rehman, who is also charged in the indictment described above, allegedly conspired with Ahsan to launder $520,000 provided by the cooperating witness who represented that the monies were the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking. The witness gave the money to Ahsan at his residence in Laurel. Similar to the Ranjha money laundering scheme described above in the Ranjha case, Ahsan used the “hawala” method to arrange for the equivalent amount of monies, minus commissions, to be deposited into the witness’s designated foreign bank account, or to be delivered by Rehman and others to the witness or a designee in Canada, England, Spain, Pakistan and the Netherlands. Both men are also charged with money laundering."

U.S. v. Rehman, et al. Indictment

The U.S. Attorney's Office stated: "Abdul Rehman conspired with seven other defendants, from May 2006 to the present, to launder $1,475,000 received from a cooperating witness who represented that the monies were proceeds of illegal drug trafficking and international smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes. On a number of occasions the cooperating witness gave the money to an associate of the defendants in Harford County and Baltimore, Maryland; New York; Spain and Australia for hand-to-hand delivery, minus 5% to 7% in commissions, to the witness or a designee in Spain, Australia and elsewhere. The defendants used the hawala method to arrange for the transfer of the money."

U.S. v. Gujjar, et al. Indictment

The U.S. Attorney's Office stated: "from March 2005 to the present, Mohammad Gujjar conspired with 24 other defendants to pay bribes to an individual they believed to be a public official of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to obtain 'green cards' for themselves and their associates. The defendants met with the cooperating witness in Snow Hill, Baltimore, Ocean City, and Salisbury, Maryland; New Jersey; Wisconsin and New York to provide bribes totaling $495,000 ranging in payments from $5,000 to $60,000.."

Terror Finance Case: "Operation Cash-Out"

By Jeffrey Imm

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