China’s Bank of Terrorism
Bank of China is accused of transferring millions of dollars to Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad.
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Is Beijing the world’s banking capital for terrorists? Ruthie Zahavi, whose four-year-old son was killed by a rocket launched by Hamas in 2004, and dozens of other victims of terrorist acts in Israel seem to think so.
On August 21, they filed suit in Superior Court in Los Angeles, alleging that, beginning in July 2003, Bank of China transferred millions of dollars to help Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad. The moneys, originating in Iran and Syria as well as other places in the Middle East, were funneled through Bank of China branches located in the United States to a branch in Guangzhou, the capital of China’s Guangdong province. From there the funds were wired to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, where they were used “for the purpose of planning, preparing for and executing terrorist attacks” between May 2004 to January of last year.
The plaintiffs claim that in April 2005 Israeli counterterrorism officials met with officials from China’s central bank and the country’s Ministry of Public Security to demand an end to Bank of China’s role in the money transfers. The transfers, however, continued, according to the complaint in the case. The Chinese central bank denies the meeting ever took place.
Furthermore, Bank of China denies all of the plaintiffs’ allegations. “The accusation is absolutely groundless,” the bank said in a statement issued Wednesday. Wang Zhaowen, a spokesman for Bank of China in Beijing, said the bank “always complies with the United Nations’ anti-money-laundering regulations. Also, our New York branch and related representative offices always follow U.S. banking regulations.”
Really? Bank of China has long been suspected of involvement in unseemly activities outside Chinese borders. Before the recent terrorism allegations, the bank was caught up in several North Korean scandals. For instance, in February 2006 it was accused of involvement in the trade in counterfeit American currency, specifically, holding large amounts of cash in three accounts in Chiyu Banking, a subsidiary of its Hong Kong unit, Bank of China Hong Kong. Bank of China Hong Kong denied responsibility in that case too, saying that “we are extremely vigilant in our day-to-day operations over possible illegal activities, including money laundering.”
Of course, any bank can be the unwitting depository and transmitter of dirty funds, but this particular institution has had a long involvement in illicit North Korean activities. In a wide ranging probe this decade of Pyongyang’s counterfeiting of American currency, its manufacture of methamphetamines, and its trade in fake cigarettes, Bank of China’s name came up at almost every turn. For instance, when American law enforcement authorities finally shut down Banco Delta Asia, a Macao bank deeply connected to North Korea’s illegal activities, Pyongyang appeared to move its accounts across the border into China into Bank of China branches in Zhuhai, the city on the northern boundary of Macao, and perhaps Shenzhen, the city just north of Hong Kong. That was a natural move because North Korea had also been using Bank of China in Macao as well as nearby Hong Kong. “Every North Korean bank has accounts at the Bank of China,” said one former North Korean businessman.
Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China.
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11 Comments
1. Joshua:Liars, cheats & cons! From China to Russia to North Korea to Iran to Venezuela to Syria and on and on and on the world is straining under the load of despicable people running despicable regimes. Our only hope in America is to defeat the Godless liberal socialists and marxists who control so much of our government and university systems. I’m not advocating a theocracy, I’m advocating the Judeo-Christian mindset that our country was founded upon. The U.S. constituion outlines these ideals very clearly.
Who is going to stand firm against despicable human rights violations, murder and brutality in the name of communism and totalitarianism? Show me one liberal socialist in America that is willing to fight and die for their social theories and I will show you 1000 God fearing christians who will fight and die for freedom and liberty for ALL mankind. We may be closer to this proving this point than any of us like.
Even the wild eyed muslims in Iraq grew tired of the stupidity and senslessness of their barbarism. They rightly called it the “Awakening” for good reason. A global awakening is on the horizon and it will come on the heels of global tribulation of biblical proportions. The Axis of Evil has become the Network of Evil around the globe!
Aug 31, 2008 - 11:06 am 2. colleen:“Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China”
Published 2001
lol lol lol
Aug 31, 2008 - 8:22 pm 3. Gordon G. Chang:colleen, The Coming Collapse of China predicts the failure of the Communist Party by the end of this decade, 2011. So you may want to hold off your laughing for a few years.
Sep 1, 2008 - 6:26 am 4. kabud:Gordon G. Chang:
thank you very much for this article
We know for a fact that Al Zawahiri, a real intelectual leader of Al Quada did his banking in China(PRP).
What do you think about this:
Sep 1, 2008 - 9:41 am 5. Gordon G. Chang:http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/flushing-1876.html
a good analysis is presented here- search page for JRN- he answers my questions just just above JRN on this link:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/defending-taiwan-is-defending-america/
kabud, many thanks for the link.
The Chinese government has for decades maintained networks of operatives in the United States to watch over Chinese nationals here and to organize them to protest and engage in other activities intended to influence American opinion. Intimidation has been one of Beijing’s favorite tactics. Washington needs to tell the Chinese government to stop these activities immediately.
Sep 1, 2008 - 2:15 pm 6. Our friends, the Chinese « Blogging for a free world:[...] Our friends, the Chinese September 1, 2008 Posted by Claudia in Islamism, economy, politics, terrorism. Tags: Bank of China, China, Hamas, Islamism, Palestine Islamic Jihad, terrorism, terrorism financing trackback After the magnificency of Chinese Olympic Games and the lack of world opposition to Chinese continous violation of Human Rights during them (if anyone voiced that opposition, he would be expelled from Chinese soil, now we get another news of what China is doing: [...]
Sep 1, 2008 - 2:51 pm 7. kabud:well, analysis of Chinese political and economical situation and Beijing secret union with Kremlin, well not that secret,
actually proves serious war preparation
and the goal of Chinese government is obviously the same as a goal of kremlin was and remains for decades:
total military destruction of USA and annexing our land
I am surprised you did not pay enough attention to the very insightful material
Chinese government will be wiped out by popular protests in the case of serious economical crisis
so the war with united states- is their ONLY way to survive
Same we can witness TODAY in the first phase of the war against strategic US interest in Georgia
Sep 1, 2008 - 4:48 pm 8. Douglas Bogle:Once again the American people and Gov,t reward our enemies. How, unions destroy our manuf, govt refuse to place tarifs on imported goods, and finally, everyone wants to buy cheap for inferior goods.
We shoot our on foot.
Stand up and fight.
Sep 2, 2008 - 10:45 am 9. Gordon G. Chang:Douglas Bogle, and there’s one more thing: the Bush administration is lax in enforcing the trade deals we have made with China. There’s no need for more agreements until we enforce the ones we have.
Sep 2, 2008 - 12:00 pm 10. Brian:Joshua-Right with you friend.We make a stand now and not wait for debate from the Left.
Sep 3, 2008 - 1:03 am 11. Pajamas Media » Disarming North Korea: Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity:[...] the United States (lasering our satellites, conducting daily cyber attacks, helping North Korea counterfeit our currency, etc.). We can stop our support for Beijing’s membership in international [...]
Oct 28, 2008 - 8:18 am