The Philippines said Monday it was taking steps to help the United States track down and freeze the assets of a Saudi Arabia-based Muslim charity and three people on suspicion they financed terrorists.
The Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council said it ordered government and private financial institutions to report any transactions involving the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, its founder Aqueel Abdulaziz Al-Aqil, and two other suspects — Assad Amad Barakat and Hassan Abdullah Hersi Al-Turki.
The U.S. government has asked authorities to check for the possible presence of Al-Haramain in the Philippines, and to look for and freeze any assets belonging to the three suspects.
Last month U.S. authorities closed down offices of the Muslim foundation in the United States on suspicions it bankrolled al-Qaida terror activities. Its branches in 10 other countries, mostly in Africa and Asia, were also shut down.
Al-Haramain has repeatedly denied that it funds terror organizations.
U.S. authorities have already frozen the U.S. assets of Al-Aqil, Barakat and Al-Turki, the anti-money laundering council said Monday.
Al-Turki is an alleged leader of a Somali terror group called Al-Itihaad Al-Islamiya, which has been linked to al-Qaida, the council said.
It said Barakat is suspected of supporting military operations of Hezbollah — an Iranian-backed organization that has appeared on the U.S. State Department list of terrorist groups since the 1980s.
The anti-money laundering council has powers to investigate and freeze bank and other financial accounts. It needs court permission to do so, unless the accounts are linked to kidnapping, drug trafficking, hijacking or terrorism.