0
Four mosques and a Manhattan skyscraper owned by a Muslim organisation are suspected by U.S. prosecutors of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.
Prosecutors filed a civil complaint yesterday in federal court against the Alavi Foundation in an attempt to take control of more than $500million in assets.
The move may be one of the biggest counter-terrorism seizures in American history.
The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centres consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres of land in Virginia; and a 36-story glass office tower in New York.
The mosques and the skyscraper will remain open while the case is tangled up in the courts. It is expected to be a long legal process.
What will happen to them if the government wins is unclear. The U.S. government usually sells properties it has seized through forfeiture, and the proceeds are sometimes distributed to crime victims.
Prosecutors claim the Alavi Foundation managed the office tower on behalf of the Iranian government.
Working with a front company known as Assa Corp., the Foundation illegally funnelled millions in rental income to Iran's state-owned Bank Melli, they claim.
Bank Melli has been accused by a U.S. Treasury official of providing support for Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. It is illegal in the U.S. to do business with the bank.
The U.S. has long suspected the foundation was an arm of the Iranian government. A 97-page complaint includes details of the involvement of several top Iranian officials in the Foundation's business - including the deputy prime minister and ambassadors to the United Nations.
Source
