US experts say dismantling the fund-raising structure of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network will prove difficult because the group's financing hinges less on bin Laden's personal wealth than was believed, the New York Timesreported today.
US officials now conclude that bin Laden's inheritance, once estimated at $300 million, is closer to $25 million.
Rather than bin Laden's personal wealth, al-Qaeda uses an combination of private enterprises, corporate shells and charities to finance its operations. These are structured like a financial archipelago, with multiple connections hidden beneath the surface, according to the magazine.
"That network is so far-flung and diversified that it could survive even if bin Laden is captured or killed," it says.
And though al-Qaeda network is on the run, the group's money-raising machine will likely survive the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan, the paper reported.
"A military success would not be sufficient without an attack on the financial infrastructure of al-Qaeda," Mr Michael Zeldin, former head of the money-laundering section at the US Justice Department, told the New York Times.
"If that stays in place, then you may chase them from one geography to the next, you may be disruptive, but you haven't gotten to the root of the problem".
Another factor making detection difficult is that the network often deals in small amounts of cash, despite generating millions of dollars a year.
AFP