Columbia man admits to illegally transferring money to Iraq

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 | 5:53 p.m. CST; updated 6:19 p.m. CST, Wednesday, December 16, 2009
BY The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY — A former fundraiser for a Missouri-based Islamic charity has pleaded guilty to illegally transferring money to his family in Iraq.

Officials say 55-year-old Ahmad Mustafa of Columbia entered the plea Wednesday in  federal court in Jefferson City.

He is one of four men associated with the Columbia-based Islamic American Relief Agency-USA who are charged in the case. A fifth man from the Middle East also was charged.

Prosecutors said the men illegally transferred $1.4 million to Iraq from March 1991 to May 2003 — when Iraq was under various U.S. and U.N. sanctions.

Mustafa said through his plea that he didn't know the organization lacked permission to do business in Iraq. The U.S. agreed that his criminal offense is limited to the money delivered to his family.

No sentencing date has been set.

 

Show Me the Errors (What's this?)

Report corrections or additions here. Leave comments below here.

You must be logged in to participate in the Show Me the Errors contest.

Comments

Leave a comment

Speak up and join the conversation! Make sure to follow the guidelines outlined below and register with our site. You must be logged in to comment. (Our full comment policy is here.)

  • Don't use obscene, profane or vulgar language.
  • Don't use language that makes personal attacks on fellow commenters or discriminates based on race, religion, gender or ethnicity.
  • Use your real first and last name when registering on the website. It will be published with every comment. (Read why we ask for that here.)
  • Don’t solicit or promote businesses.

We are not able to monitor every comment that comes through. If you see something objectionable, please click the "Report comment" link.

You must be logged in to comment.

Forget your password?

Don't have an account? Register here.

The Quad
advertisements