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Admitted in:Oregon. U'dvliiiijtiori,Idaho.-uid CoonetticulE-M.iii:|Mobile!

January 19 , 2005

Robert W. WernerDirector, Office of Foreign Assets ControlU.S. Department of the Treasury1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20220

(b )(2 ) | R e : 0 H H : Request for Reconsideration of Designationof Soliman Al-Bulhe Pursuant to 31 C.F.R 501,807 (2004)Dear Mr. Werner:

1 am writing on behalf of Soliman H. Ai-Buthe, whom the Office of Foreign AssetsControl ("OFAC") added to its SDN list as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist onSeptember 9, 2004, The p urpos e of this letter is to request formally thai OF AC reco nsider hisdesignation and remove Mr. Al-Buthc's name from the list for the reasons set forth hereinTravelers' Cbetftsackground: The

The genesis of Mr. AJ-Butlie's designation appears to be the result of his facilitation inMarch 2000 of the transfer of approximately SI 50,000 from & H H H H H H B n Egyptthrough a ban k in Ashland, Oregon, to AJ Haramain Islamic Foundation ("A HIF") in Riyadh.Saudi Arabia. This letter explains the circumstances involved in lliai transfer with theexpeciation that the clearing of this issue should remove the last impediment to the removal ofMi AI-Bulhe's designation.By way of background. M r. Al-Buthe is a Saudi Arabian national who was born in |Mr. Al-Buthe isl

IMr. Al-Buthe is a 1986 graduate fromKing Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; he has a Bachelo r of Science degree inAgriculture and is currently ioperations & beautifications. |

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Roben W. WemerDirector, Office of Foreign Assets ControlJanuary 19, 2005Page 2

For several years Mr. Al-Buthe had served as an unpaid volun teer for Al-HaramainIslamic Foundation ("AHIF"); he Terminated his relationship with AKIF in September 2002largely as a result o ^ H H H H H H H I According to press reports, AHIF was formed in 1988.by Aqtl al-Aqil, wh o served as directo r untiJ OF AC listed him as a SD N-S DG T.1 In 1993 Mr.Aj-Buthc began to work for Al Ilaramain as an unpaid consultant who was first tasked withdeveloping the AHTF websirc; he had no specific job description. That role evolved over lime tothe point thai Mr. Al-Buthe came to be responsible for Internet activities and then for cbarhableworks in the United Slates.AK IF first became interested m activities in the United States when it was contacted by|," commonly known in the West a sf lH H B " )> a njthen residing in Ashland, Oregon. H I H H w a s 1-' ie n hf i U ^ f the Quran-oundaiion, an Oregon nonprofit domestic corporation which, was formed in I H & n d whichwas actively distributing Islamic literature, primarily to prisons. AH IF had been involved indistributing such literature over the world, and had learned that the cost of international shippingof such materials couldbep rohib itive. K was thus decided that a representative from AHJFwould meet w i t h m H t o discuss how such Islamic l itera ture could be obtained anddistributed most effectively In the United States.

Mr. Al -Buthe f irst v is it ed H ^ H ' n AshJand in 1997. At that time,!religious activities were bein g conducted ou t of his J ^ j ^^^ r . AI-Buihe reported back to AHIFH H H H H B i 1 n a l distributing literature i h r o u g h ^ ^ H ^ c o u l d be much more cost effectivethan sending l iterature from the Middle East. H H ^ | p v a s solely responsible for making thedecision to establish a branch in AshJand, Oregon, and he decided th at AH IF should do so A!Hararaain Foundation, an Oregon assumed business name C'AHIF Oreg on"), w as registered withthe Oregon Secretary of State on October 22, 1 9 9 ^ H H B J ( o c a t e d a bui ld ing t o a cquire fo rthose purposes and AHIF Oregon agreed w i t h H H H O u r a n Foundat ion tha t the AHIFOregon property could be used for distributing religious literature "to promote peace throughunderstanding of Islam." {Emphasis in original.) A "Declaration of Coop eration Statement"executed by AHEF Oregon and Quran Foundation stales explicitly, wWc all mutually standagainst terrorism or ever engaging in any subversive activities against any governments, race orgend er." A copy of the declaration is attached as Exhibit 1.

Mr. Al-Buthe was active in raising funds for the Ashland property from Saudi Arabiansources and, under the immediate and close supervision of H H H H i w a s a ' s o responsible fordisbursing the amoun ts required for ongoing operations, At a later time AH IF decided to assistin the purchase of a mosque in Springfield, Missouri, which was accom plished through AH IF

Sec Exhibit 1, Octo ber 6. 2004, report, " 'Saudis shui down chanty ," Aljazeera article leprimed fromhiip.-.^riilishalin/crra nenNR';\eri?s. 'r. ."iSAE9>-P/lEC";ti7C-3PF.i?-,l!l^S*[)n)BA57B.)il:H.TEL: I

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Oregon. Mr. A l-Bmhe brought cash equivalents with him (usually in the form of travelers'checks) on bis short visits to the United States, in all instances indicating on the appropriatecustoms forms required to be completed to enter the country that he was bringin g money withhim.In March of 2000 Mr. Al-Buthe traveled to the United States for die purpose of assistingin establishing an Islamic website, IsiamToday^VVhile en route to the United Stales, Mr Ai-B uihe learned t h a t ^ H H H had contributed H H I H t o AH1F Oregon, designating it forChechen relief efforts. Although Mr. Al-Buthe is uncertain w h y ^ B H M (whom Mr. Al-Buthe has never met) sent the contribution to the United Stales instead o f Saudi Arabia, he

speculates that there probably are fewer restrictions on effecting such transfers into the UnitedStates. He further speculates that it may have been the case that flHH H wa s responding towebsite instructions or advertisements that had been published in lslnmic magazines directingcontributions to the United States, In any event, desiring to accomplish as much as possibleduring ibe short business trip, Mr. AJ-Buthe made arrangements to travel to Ashland to obtainH H H H H c o n t r i b u t i o n f r t ' i e purpose of turning it over to one of th e fundraisers in the AHIFcentral office in Riyadh. Thu s Mr. A J-Buthe flew from New York to San Francisco to Medford,Oregon, and then drove to Ashland.When Mr. AJ-Buthe arrived in Ashland, H H H ^ e n t to the Bank of America branch inwhich AMF Oregonhad i ts accoun^f ldreques tcd to withdraw the H H H H H H Hcontribution, | [ J H i K & c l u e s t c ^ H J J H R I ' n trave'ers> checks, for his prior experience hadestablished th at trav eler s' ch ecks w ere the easiest form for transporting signi Fie ant amounts ofmoney equivalents (c ashier's checks require a significant amount of tim e to "clear" when

depos ited in overseas banks) . According to the .Affidavit of H H H M m Support ofSearch Warrant for the Ashland AJ-Haramain premises ( ' A f f i d a v i t " ) , "the bankemployee tried to e o n v i u c e U d to tiU^e 3 cashier's check instead [of travelers' checks.]" Inany event. ojjMarchlO^OO O, Mr. A ^ B ^ t a ^ ^ m a j 130 American Express travelers' checks(serial n o s < H H H H H | through H H H H H R ) , and the following day he obtained acashier's cnecl ^ntn earn oun t of S21,000. Mr. AJ-Buthe took the both the travelers' checks andthe cashier's check w ith him w hen h e departed the United States and ultimately turned them over1o A1JJF personnel in Riyadh.The surrounding circumstances clearly indicate lhat Mr. Al-Bulhe's conduct wascompletely innocent. First , h a d | B H H a n d ^ r ' Al-Butheaccepted the bank 's urging andtaken a cashier's check for the entire amount instead o f M ^ H H i n travelers' checks, therealmost certainly would be no basis for an y claim of wrongdoing, This is because (a s is implicit' n ^ I H H H Affidavit at U 46) bank checks that are not imm ediately negotiable by ihr. bearer

: See \v\\-w J5!a:i'!odat' ncl.TELl

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do not trigger liability u nder transaction reporting rules.3 Second, the circumstances involvedclearly indica te an innocent intent. Had Mr. AI-Buthe known of and intended to violate thereporting requirement, he certainly would not have insisted upon taking (he e n t i r e ^ H H I 1 1travelers' checks from one bank; rather, he likely would have attempted lo "struciure" ihewithdraw als to avoid det edi on. Furthermore, had Mr. AJ-Butbe known of the reportingrequirements, he also most likely would have known that banks are required by law to report anysuspicious tran sactio ns in an amou nt in excess of $5000,* and therefore reaJized that the Bank ofAm erica almo st certainly would report his withdrawal. There was nothing clandestine in Mr Al-Bu ihe's condu ct. For its part, certainly the bank knew tliat Mr. Al-Buthe was not a permanentresident of the Uniied States, and certainly the bank hiew that Mr. AI-Buthe intended to take themoney with him when he left the United Stales (indeed, why else would a departing foreignerask for travele rs' checks?). Quite simply, M r Al-Buthe did not report that he was carryingtravelers' checks when he left Ihe Unite Stales because he did not know that such reporting wasrequired for money leaving the United States 5 In sum, it is clear that Mr. Al^Buthe did notintend lo conceal th e fact thai he was planning on taking the funds o ut of the U nited States."

Addressing the events in Chechnya, Mr. AJ-Buthe has never traveled to that country andhas no first-hand knowledge of the AH lF's activities there At no time has he ever had anycontrol over AH lF 's activities in Chechnya. Any funding of activities in Ch ech nya was byofficials in Saudi Arabia, including Saudi governmental authorities; indeed, in 1999 the SaudiArabian government began controlling and coordinating AHlF's charitable activities in the areaSec Exhibit 2, a January 8, 1999, telegram from the President of the Council of Ministers toSaudi governmental authorities asserting governmental control over four charities, includingAH IF, that were providing aid to Kosovo refugees. Moreover, the Saudi activities in support ofChcc hyn refugees w ere welcomed by the Russian government See Exhibit 3, Iranslation of

3 The definition of "monetary instruments" excludes negotiable instruments (including bank checks) (Jtairirc iiol in bearer form, endorsed withou t restriction, made out lo a fictitious pay ee, or otherwise such thai tide passeson delivery. .11 C P.R. 103.1 l(u)(l)(Lii). The m ^ | Affidavit strongly suggests ilut die cashier's clieck wasnot in bearer form aod otherwise noi susceptible

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telegraph from Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah bin Abdulaziz AJ-Saud to H is Royal Highnessthe Minister of the Interior dal.ed October II, 1999. And, on a more personal noic, Mr, Al-Butheis opposed to all forms of terrorism - as evidenced not only by his signature on the declarationexecuted by AHJF Oregon and the Q ur'an Foundation but also by his personal life style.Impact oFthe Designation

OF AC 's designation of M r. Al-Buthe in September has had profound effects upon hispersonal life and his ability lo support his family, and those effects involve basic constitutional. safeguards. First, when the United S tates government formally accused him of being a"specially designated globaJ terrorist," international scorn, hatred, and contempt were broughtdown upon him and those with whom he associates. As a result, he has received h ate e-mailsthreatening him (one instance was reported to the Portland office o f the Federal Bureau of[investigation), and many of his friends and acquaintances have treated him much differently.Second, his continued employment is in jeopardy. In addition, as a result of the designation theKingdom of Saudi Arabia has frozen MT. AJ-Buthe's personal bank account into which the Cityof Riyadh pays Mr. A I-Buthe's salary. This means that, although Mr. Aj-Buthe reports daily towork , he cannot enjoy the fruits o f those labors. Moreover, as a result of the designation Mr Al-Buthe lias been prohibited from leaving the kingdom; in effeel, he is under house- arrest,Request for Reconsideration of Desipnation

Based upon the foregoing, Mr. Al-Buthe respectfully submits that OFAC shouldreconsider its designation of him as a specially designated global terrorist. OF AC 's regulations -specifically, 31 CF .R . section 01.807 - authorize the reconsideration of a perso n's designationas a specially designated national or terrorist if certain circumstances are established. The citedregulation provides in part:A person may seek administrative reconsideration of his, her or itsdesignation . . . or assert that the circumstances resulting in the designation nolonger apply, and thus seek to have Oic designation rescinded pursuant to thefollowing administrative procedures:(a) A person blocked under the provisions of any part of this chapter,including a specially designated national, specially designated terrorist, orspecially designated narcotics trafficker (collectively, "a blocked pe rso n" '). ..may submit argum ents or evidence that the person believes establishes thatinsufficient basis exists for the designation The blocked person also may p roposeremedial sieps on the person's p art, such as corporate reorganization, resignationof persons from positions in a blocked entity, or similar steps, which the. personbelieves would negate the basis for designation....

TEl_-l

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(b) The information submitted by the blocked person seeking unblocking .. . will be reviewed by the Office of Foreign Assels Control, which may requestclarifying, corroborating, or other additional information.(c) A blocked person seeking un blo ck ing ... may request a meeting withLhe Office of Foreign Assets Control; however, such meetings are no t required,and th e office may, at its discretion, decline lo conduct such meetings p rior tocompleting a review pursuant to this section.(d) Afler the Office of Foreign Assets Control has conducted a review ofthe request for reconsideration, it will provide a written decision to the blockedperson . . .

According to the United States Department of Slate's website, removals most often occur whenthe "petitio ner established that he is no longer engaging in the activity or activities that qualifiedhim for designation under the applicable Executive Order." 7 The same document stales thai thebasic issue is "nearly always whether the petitioner has made a demonstrable break with thedesignated emhy."Mr. Al-Bulhe has not been involved with AHTF since September 2002, and thus there issimply no basis to continue the designation of Mr. AJ-Buthe. Indeed, AH IF has been effectivelydisbanded and Saudi Arabian charities are now under very close and strict supervision of theSaudi (and, one suspects, the American) authorities. Mr. Al-Buthe never had any involvement

with AHIF activities in Chechnya other than to arrange for the transfer o f ^ H H H I donationfrom Ashland to Saudi Arabia. AHIF Oregon is inactive, and the only step s that remain to be!,aJcen invo lve the w inding up of its property affairs. The designatio n has had a pro foundlynegative and unfair impaci upon his personal and professional life. Ai f of the criteria that OFACand the Department of Slate have posited for removing designations apply with full force to theAJ-Buthe designation, and no legitimate purpose is served by continuing the designation. For allof these reason s, Mr. AJ-Buthe respectfully requests that the designation be rescinded and that liebe allowed to attempt to return to a normal, productive life.Mr. Al-Buthc is ready to take any steps reasonably necessary to remove the designation,including responding to questions that OFAC or law enforcement officials may have regardingthe basis for the designation. In furtherance of this effort, I specifically requ est a formal meetingwith OFAC personnel in order to discuss this matter more thoroughly and completely.

l'.llp,.'.'*' slutt:.go; I'CtrlsTs. 3l)!)-.Sii)i mi'l).

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Robert W. WernerDirector, Office of Foreign Assets ControlJanuary 19, 2005Pane 7

I look forward to working wiLh your office on this matter. Please lei me know ifyouhave any questionsVery truly yours,

Cl ieni

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Statement of PurposeDeclaration of Cooperatioo S tatemen tStatement of declaration between Qur'an Foundation and Al-HsramainJ-'oundatioji.

To spread the message tbsrt NON E HAS THE RI G H T T O B EW O RS H I P P E D E XCE P T AL L AH and MUHAMMAX> TS TifEMESSENGER OF ALLAH to the world.We all mu tually stand against terrorism or ever engaging in anysubversive activities against any governments, race or gender.We mutually agree to cooperate for the purpose of Islamic education; toprom ote peace throu gh understanding of Is lam.We mutually agree to KEVER support or approve any statement or actsof terrorism. Such is totally against our beautiibl religion of Isla m . We shall not break any governmental laws or cause any mischief onaith.We m utually agree to uphold the Qu'ran and the Sunnah of our kindjgentle and loving Prop het, peace be upon him.

Exhibit ]Page 1 nf l

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