SAAR Foundation
Encyclopedia
The SAAR Foundation was a flagship corporation representing charities, think tanks, and business entities named after its founder, Saudi patriarch Sulaiman Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi. The SAAR Foundation achieved prominence as the key subject of a March 20, 2002 raid by federal agents, as a part of Operation Green Quest
.
, on March 20, 2002 federal agents raided 14 interlocking business entities in Herndon, VA associated with the SAAR Foundation looking for ties to the Al Taqwa Bank
and the Muslim Brotherhood
. Over 500 boxes of files and computer files were confiscated, filling seven trucks.
The raids led to the convictions of two people, including Abdurahman Alamoudi, who worked for the SAAR Foundation. Alamoudi admitted that he plotted with Libya to assassinate the Saudi ruler and was sentenced to 23 years in jail.
Operation Green Quest
Operation Green Quest was a United States Customs Service-sponsored interagency investigative unit formed in October 2001 after the September 11 attacks, and concerned with the surveillance and interdiction of terrorist financing sources...
.
Background
The Foundation's overseas origins date to the 1970s. Its U.S. branch was incorporated as a 501(3)c on July 29, 1983 in Herndon, VA, and dissolved in December 2000, and renamed Safa Trust.Federal investigation
As part of Operation Green QuestOperation Green Quest
Operation Green Quest was a United States Customs Service-sponsored interagency investigative unit formed in October 2001 after the September 11 attacks, and concerned with the surveillance and interdiction of terrorist financing sources...
, on March 20, 2002 federal agents raided 14 interlocking business entities in Herndon, VA associated with the SAAR Foundation looking for ties to the Al Taqwa Bank
Al Taqwa Bank
The Al Taqwa Bank is a financial institution incorporated in 1988. It is based out of The Bahamas, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein...
and the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
. Over 500 boxes of files and computer files were confiscated, filling seven trucks.
The raids led to the convictions of two people, including Abdurahman Alamoudi, who worked for the SAAR Foundation. Alamoudi admitted that he plotted with Libya to assassinate the Saudi ruler and was sentenced to 23 years in jail.
Notable personnel
- Yaqub MirzaYaqub MirzaM. Yaqub Mirza is a Herndon, VA -based businessman and Islamic activist.- Background :Mirza holds a M.Sc. from University of Karachi , a Ph.D. in Physics and M.A. in Teaching Science from University of Texas at Dallas...
, chief executive 1984-2002. - Ahmad TotonjiAhmad TotonjiAhmad Totonji was a co-founder and officer of the now-defunct Safa Trust and a co-founder of the International Institute of Islamic Thought, along with Anwar Ibrahim, Jamal al Barzinji, and Hashim al Talib. He was also a chairman of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society , and Deputy Secretary General...
- Ibrahim Hassabella