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Extracted Text (OCR)
In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, 392 F.Supp.2d 539 (2005)
10 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 789
411 Taha Al-Awani, Muhammad Ashraf, M. Omar
Ashraf, M. Yaqub Mirza, and Iqbal Unus are SAAR
Network executives who are mentioned once in the
Federal complaint in a long list of Defendants who
allegedly “have aided and abetted, conspired with, and
provided material support and resources to, defendant al
Qaida and/or affiliated FTOs, associations, organizations
or persons, as described herein.” (Federal Compl. J 66.)
The complaint does not include any other allegations
against these Defendants.
The Federal complaint alleges that Jamal Barzinji,
another SAAR Network executive who moves to dismiss
the complaint, is a Saudi national who, “through his
various for-profit enterprises and involvement with
charities and individuals operating within al Qaida’s
infrastructure, has long provided material support and
resources to al Qaida.” (federal Compl. J 490-91.)
Barzinjit has served as a board member of, or been
associated with, several SAAR Network entities,
including IIT, WAMY, Safa Trust, Mar—Jac Poultry, and
SAAR Foundation. Jd. ¥ 490 (claiming that while he was
the President of Safa Trust, he “held authority over
eighteen bank accounts”). He is a business associate of
the designated terrorist Yousef Nada. (/d.) According to
unnamed federal authorities, Barzinji “committed and
conspired to: transit money internationally for the purpose
of promoting offenses against foreign nations involving
murder or the destruction of property by means of
explosive, fire, kidnapping or extortion ...; provide
material support or resources to foreign terrorist
organizations ...; and provide material support or conceal
or disguise the source of ownership of material support
*372 intended for use in preparation for or in carrying out
a terrorist act.” (/d.)
The RICO statement provides additional associations
between each of these SAAR Network executives and the
SAAR Network. (See Federal RICO Statement
Applicable to the SAAR Network Executives at Ex. A
(alleging in their roles as executives of SAAR Network
entities, each of these Defendants committed multiple acts
of conspiracy to commit multiple crimes).) Specifically,
Taha Al—Alwani was President of INIT and an officer of
Heritage Education Trust; Muhammad Ashraf was an
officer and/or director of Sterling Investment Group,
Sterling Charitable Gift Fund, and York Foundation; M.
Omar Ashraf was an officer and/or director of Grove
Corporate Plaza, Mar—Jac Investments, and Sterling
Charitable Gift Fund; Yaqub Mirza served as an officer
and/or director of African Muslim Agency, Mar—Jac
Investments, Mar—Jac Poultry, Reston Investments,
SAAR Foundation, Safa Trust, where he was the principal
signatory on Safa Group checks, and York International;
WESTLAW
Iqbal Yunus was a director of Child Development
Foundation, a SAAR Network entity, and was associated
with Sterling Charitable Gift Fund, and Sterling
Management Group; finally, Jamal Barzinji was president
of Safa Trust and a director of Mar—Jac Poultry, Reston
Investments, IIIT, and Safa Trust. (/d. at 5(f) and Ex. A.)
The complaint does not state a claim for relief against
Taha Al-Awani, Muhammad Ashraf, M. Omar Ashraf,
M. Yaqub Mirza, or Iqbal Unus on a civil RICO theory or
under the ATA. Reading the complaint as a whole and
considering the overlap of executives among the SAAR
Network entities, the complaint does not adequately
provide these Defendants with notice as to how they
provided material support to al Qaeda terrorists. See Boim
IT, 291 F.3d at 1023 (explaining a claim under the ATA
must include allegation that defendant knew about
terrorists’ illegal activities, defendant wanted to help
those activities succeed, and defendant engaged in an act
of helping). The Federal complaint against Taha
Al-Awani, Muhammad Ashraf, M. Omar Ashraf, M.
Yaqub Mirza, and Iqbal Unus is dismissed without
prejudice.
421 43] Jamal Barzinji controlled several bank accounts.
(Federal Compl. J 490.) He has allegedly transmitted
money internationally for terrorist purposes. (/d.) He
allegedly made these transfers to support al Qaeda. (/d. at
qj 490-91.) The Federal Plaintiffs do not allege that Mr.
Barzinji participated in the operation or management of
their claimed RICO enterprise, and the RICO claim
against him is dismissed. Reves, 507 U.S. at 179, 113
S.Ct. 1163. But Mr. Barzinji does have sufficient notice
of the claims against him regarding his alleged provision
of material support in the form of financial transactions to
al Qaeda. See 18 U.S.C. § 2339(A) (including provision
of “currency or other financial securities [and] financial
services” in definition of material support) Accordingly,
his motion to dismiss the federal complaint is denied.
IV. NCB’s Motion for Reconsideration
In deciding NCB’s motions to dismiss the Ashton and
Burnett complaints, the Court ruled that NCB’s status as a
foreign sovereign for purposes of immunity under the
FSIA was unclear. It also questioned whether it had
personal jurisdiction over NCB. The Court ordered
limited jurisdictional discovery on both issues. Terrorist
Attacks I, 349 F.Supp.2d at 792, 820. In light of the
possible lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction,
the Court refrained from deciding NCB’s motion to
dismiss for failure to state a clatm. NCB *573 moves for
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| Filename | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017930.jpg |
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| OCR Confidence | 85.0% |
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| Indexed | 2026-02-04T16:33:34.132003 |