Saudi Arabia Acts to Regulate Terrorist Financing, But Questions Remain

On June 2, 2004, Saudi Arabia announced it would disband all existing charitable entities and committees operating abroad, including Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (responsible for as much as $50 million a year on humanitarian projects), and establish a single, government-appointed commission to handle all Saudi charitable giving abroad. On June 15, 2004, testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Affairs and a report issued by the Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing show a very mixed record of the practical effect of Saudi measures.