-Caveat Lector- FBI Arrests 7 for Raising Funds for Iran Rebel Group February 28, 2001 By Sarah Tippit http://news.excite.com/news/r/010228/18/international-crime-iran-dc LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Seven people have been arrested on charges of raising more than $1 million for the main Iranian opposition group People's Mujahideen Organization by posing as charity workers soliciting funds at Los Angeles airport for starving orphans the FBI said on Wednesday. FBI officials told a news conference that the seven were arrested on Tuesday following a three-year investigation. The suspects were charged with several counts of supporting an official terrorist organization, officials said. An arraignment was expected late on Wednesday in Los Angeles. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years per count, officials said. The group is also known as the Mujahideen-e Khalq Organization (MEK). "The MEK is a known terrorist group," said James DeSarno, the assistant FBI director for the Los Angeles office said. "I think the arrests are very significant ... We certainly hope it puts a crimp on their fund-raising activity." DeSarno said the seven Iranian nationals -- six men and one woman who was considered the ringleader -- dressed in business suits and approached travelers, primarily Asians who did not speak good English, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport. After showing them graphic photos of Iranian orphans and alleged atrocities by the Iranian government, they collected up to $10,000 a day which they said was to be spent to aid a charitable group called "The Committee for Human Rights in Iran," which purported to use the money to feed starving children. According to a federal affidavit, the Los Angeles-based fund-raisers transferred more than $1 million in donations to two Turkish bank accounts in the three years. During April, 1999, more than $400,000 was transferred out of those accounts to a used auto parts store in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The transfer, FBI officials said, did not appear to be related to humanitarian relief. "It is believed that the money was used to buy arms including mortars and rocket propelled grenades for the Mujahideen-e Khalq group's National Liberation Army," DeSarno said. FBI officials also believe that the accused, aided by an unknown number of volunteers in the Los Angeles area, solicited money from the city's substantial Iranian community, which is one of the largest Iranian expatriate communities in the world. They stressed that the Iranian donors were likely unaware that they were contributing money to terrorists, FBI spokesman Matthew McLaughlin said. The investigation, known as Operation Eastern Money, was initiated by the German National Criminal Police who told FBI officials that members of the MEK were involved in money laundering in Los Angeles. Formed in the 1960s by college educated children of Iranian merchants, the MEK sought to counter what it saw as excessive Western influence in the then-Shah's regime. Following a philosophy that mixes Marxism and Islam the group stresses propaganda and sometimes uses violence. It often uses Iraq as a springboard for attacks into Iran and has several bases equipped with tanks, heavy guns, and helicopter gunships close to the Iranian border. The MEK is one of several groups listed as a "terrorist organization" by Washington. A similar designation was recently assigned to the group by the British government. From the 1970s to the 1990s, MEK staged attacks inside Iran where it killed several U.S. military personnel and civilians. The organization has carried out several rocket attacks and assassinations in Iran's big cities in recent months as part of a campaign to overthrow the Islamic Republic. It also participated in the takeover in 1979 of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and was responsible for the violent occupation of the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York in 1992. "None of these (arrested) individuals ... are tied to any terrorist act, either here or in the United States or overseas," DeSarno said. However, he said that money raised was intended to support MEK which is known to have committed terrorist acts. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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