RIYADH, 19 August — More Islamic charities and Saudi banks named in a lawsuit by families of Sept. 11 victims denied yesterday any role in funding terrorism and blasted the case as an attempt to extort Saudi wealth abroad.
In a civil suit filed in a Washington court on Thursday, relatives of some 400 people killed in the attacks sought damages of over $100 trillion.
An official at Al Rajhi Investment and Development Corp., one of several Saudi banks named in the lawsuit, said: "This is an act to extort Saudi money deposited in the United States and a way of meddling in the region." Officials at the banks involved said they were pondering a response but would not act or issue statements before consulting with government authorities in the Kingdom.
A Sudanese government minister also dismissed allegations in the suit that Khartoum had funded Osama Bin Laden. Sudan’s Minister of State for Foreign Relations Chol Deng Alak said: "Terrorism should not be connected to us, we don’t see any logic behind connecting Sudan to Sept. 11," he said.
Some Islamic charities based in the Kingdom dismissed the lawsuit as "political maneuvering".
"We have no links to (terrorism)," said Sheikh Ali Al-Juraiss, an official of the Muslim World League, one of the charities named. "We do charity work to help the poor and needy without distributing money," he said.
Aqeel Al-Aqeel, general manager of Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation which was also named in the lawsuit, said the campaign was aimed at targeting Muslims. "They hope by doing this they will pressure the Islamic world into accepting an attack on Iraq." He said Muslim charities named in the lawsuit planned to hold a meeting soon in Cairo to discuss a plan of action.
Meanwhile, there have been calls for the withdrawal of Saudi investments worth $750 billion in the United States in the wake of the lawsuit filed against the Saudi banks and organizations.
"The lawsuit will force Arab and Saudi investors to withdraw their investments in the US fearing the risks involved," Bashar Bakheet, director of Bakheet Financial Consultancy firm, told Al-Watan newspaper. He put the total Arab investments in the US at more than $1.3 trillion.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil, chairman of Al-Zamil Group, urged Saudi investors to repatriate their funds to the Kingdom. He pointed out that European investors had withdrawn $70 billion in investments from US after the Sept. 11 attacks.
