Sources: Terror suspect is son of bank executive, attended college

The man charged with attempting to destroy a U.S. airliner on Friday is the son of prominent Nigerian banker and had been a college student in Britain before moving to Dubai, according to family and official sources.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, received a college degree at the University College of London, according to a source who lives at the family home in Kaduna, Nigeria.

Dave Weston, a spokesman for the university, said a man named Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was enrolled in the mechanical engineering department between September 2005 and June 2008.

His father, Alhaji Umar Mutallab, recently retired as chairman of First Bank PLC, one of the Nigeria's premier banks, said the source, who lives at the family home in Kaduna, Nigeria.

Abdulmutallab went to Dubai to study for a second degree, the family source told CNN, but contacted his family to so say he was moving to Yemen, implying that he was leaving "for the course of Islam."

It was after this communication that his father contacted security services and the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, to warn that he feared his son might intend to participate in "some kind of jihad," the family source said.

The family member said Abdulmutallab "had no family consent or support" and that he "absconded to Yemen."

Abdulmutallab's last known London address was a basement apartment in a wealthy neighborhood. On Saturday, counterterrorism police officers police went in and out of an ornate building on Mansfield Street where Abdulmutallab apparently lived.

Abdulmutallab was granted a multiple-year, multiple-entry tourist visa at the U.S. Embassy in London in June 2008, a senior U.S. administration official familiar with the case told CNN on Saturday.

At the time, there was "no derogatory information that would have prevented him from getting a visa," said the official.

When Abdulmuttalab returned to Nigeria from London, he told his family he wanted to get a second college degree in Cairo or Saudi Arabia, the family source said.

The family refused, because they were worried that he may have developed ties to some dubious people. He went to Dubai instead, the source said.

CNN

Lockerbie Bomber Had Secret Swiss Bank Account

The Lockerbie bomber had £1.8m ($2.9 million USD) in a Swiss bank account when he was convicted eight years ago, it has been revealed.

The Crown Office, Scotland’s equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service, has confirmed it refused to grant bail to Abdel Baset al-Megrahi as recently as November last year because of concerns he might try to gain access to the money.

The existence of such a large sum in a personal account casts doubt on claims by the Libyan government that Megrahi was a low-ranking airline worker.

The disclosure also raises further questions about the wisdom of the Scottish government in releasing the bomber, who has terminal prostate cancer, on compassionate grounds in August.

Sources close to Megrahi’s defense team said they were aware of the bank account and had several explanations prepared ahead of his trial in the Netherlands in 2000.

Click to continue reading at the Sunday Times

FoxNews

Hypocrisy: Saudi Arabia, the country that won't allow churches or synagogues, calls for boycott of Switzerland over minaret ban

That is, it is hypocrisy from a Western point of view. As far as the Saudis are concerned, Islam is the truth, its truth is self-evident, and therefore the Swiss are obligated to accommodate it in a way that the Saudis are not obligated to accommodate non-Muslim religious observance.

"Saudi Arabia calls to boycott Swiss over minaret ban," by Roee Nahmias for Ynet News, December 8 (thanks to Fjordman):

A number of religious figures in Saudi Arabia called to boycott Switzerland and withdraw all Muslim deposits from bank accounts in the country in protest against the Swiss referendum that banned building new minarets.

The UAE-based newspaper al-Bayan reported that religious moderator Khaled al-Shamrani called for afar-reaching boycott on all good and products originating in Switzerland.

He also called upon Muslims to avoid traveling to the country. Religious figure Ahmed al-Hassan called wealthy Muslims to withdraw their deposits from Swiss banks.

With thanks to JihadWatch

Dubai World might still pay sukuk by deadline

Rupert Wright and Frank Kane

Dubai World could still meet the December 14 deadline on the US$4 billion (Dh14.69bn) payment of a sukuk from Nakheel under one option being considered by advisers to the conglomerate.

Repayment on schedule is one of four alternatives being considered by Dubai World, which announced on Wednesday it would seek a freeze on billions of dollars in debt repayments to bondholders and creditors.

The options are still being pondered by Aidan Birkett of Deloitte, the new chief restructuring officer of Dubai World. He was appointed to oversee its reorganisation, along with the investment bank Rothschild and the US corporate specialists AlixPartners.

If Dubai World pays back the sukuk, it would solve a problem for the company and its bondholders, and leave open the option of rescheduling bank debt and other liabilities, including bills owed to international contractors.

Other options being considered include a scheme to offer bondholders 80 per cent redemption of the value of their holdings, with a similar offer made to bankers.

Alternatively, Dubai World may move forward with the plan to seek a general “debt holiday” under the terms of last week’s standstill proposal, by which payments would be frozen until May 30 next year with a view to negotiating a rescheduling of all its debts.

In the most drastic scenario, Dubai World might embark on a general liquidation of assets in response to legal action by creditors. But this is thought to be a remote possibility, as it is likely to impair the value of Dubai World assets, leaving everyone worse off.

Legally speaking, creditors who lent to Dubai World during the boom years were fully aware that they were lending to government-related entities (GRE) and that the bonds were not guaranteed by the sovereign, advisers to Dubai believe.

“The Dubai Government has no legal obligations in respect of GRE indebtedness,” according to the prospectus of Dubai Government bonds sold earlier this year.

More at the National

Iraqi bank opens women-only branch: chief

AN IRAQI bank has opened a branch entirely dedicated to and operated by women in the holy Shi'ite Muslim city of Najaf, its chief, who admitted even he could not enter, told AFP overnight.

Abdel Razzaq Mansur, the chief executive of Babylon Bank, said the branch which opened on Sunday had so far worked with 50 clients and expected to be dealing with about 200 within a year.

"In Najaf, there are many women who are business women, and they have companies in many different lines of work," he said, noting the branch's 25-strong staff were composed entirely of women.

The only men working for the branch were special security guards stationed outside the bank on the street, Mansur said.

It will provide loans, investments, deposits and savings in both Iraqi dinars and US dollars.

Asked whether any men would be allowed to enter the branch, he replied, while laughing: "I am the boss, but I can only ask them to come here (to Baghdad) -- I can't go there."

Mansur added that while he hoped to expand the concept to Baghdad, Babylon Bank would not extend it beyond Najaf for now.

Najaf, located 150km south of Baghdad, is home to the mausoleum of Imam Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Mohammed, which attracts Shi'ites from around the world, particularly neighbouring Iran.

Source: The Australian

Four U.S. banks to open branches in Iran

"If they can work according to Iran's banking law, they will be allowed to open branches in Tehran and other cities." So in other words, Western banks operating in Islamic countries have to abide by Sharia Finance restrictions. And Western banks operating in Western likewise are increasingly accommodating Sharia Finance restrictions.

This is in microcosm (albeit admittedly a rather macrocosmic microcosm) the same stealth jihad phenomenon we see in other areas: in Muslim countries, Muslims demand that Westerners conform to Islamic sensibilities, and likewise in Western countries, Muslims demand that Westerners conform to Islamic sensibilities.

And the banks willingly go along. Lovers of freedom should divest their assets from these banks. Read more ...

Source: Voz Is Neias?
H/T: Jihad Watch

The Risky Business Of Islamic Finance

Islamofascism: Shariah banking has come into vogue in the West, as even cash-strapped U.S. banks try to attract free-flowing Arab petrodollars. But it poses major risks. Wall Street beware. Read more ...

Source: Investor's Business Daily
H/T: The Intelligence Summit