Al-Nuaimi added to joint terrorism watch list

CAIRO – 9 June, 2017: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain announced in a joint statement that they have included 59 individuals and 12 organizations with ties to Qatar on their terrorism watch list.

The Qatari national Abd Al-Rahman Bin Umayr Al-Nuaimi was included on the terrorist watch list, Nuaimi is a terror financier based in Qatar known as Bin Laden’s successor. Nuaimi is a former president of the Qatar Football Association and a founder of the Sheikh Eid bin Mohammed al-Thani Charitable Association, which has ties to Qatar’s royal family.

According to reports, Al Thani treated Nuaimi “like an old friend” after his release from prison in 2001. He is often seen as promoting outlawed Muslim Brotherhood ideals.

In 2002, he was appointed as the president of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS), which reportedly hosted Hamas former leader Khaled Meshaal and other Hamas leaders.

Nuaimi (63 years old) also launched the Global Anti-Aggression Coalition that issued statements supporting “resistance” in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, and Somalia.

In 2004, Nuaimi co-founded al-Karama, a Geneva-based human-rights organization. Nuaimi served as the group’s president until December 2013, when he was labeled a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the United States.

In December 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury named Nuaimi an SDGT pursuant to Executive Order 13224. The U.S. Department of Treasury sanctioned Nuaimi in December 2013 for providing financial support to al-Qaeda, Lebanon-based Asbat al-Ansar, al-Qaeda in Iraq, and al-Shabaab. As a chief al-Qaeda financier, Nuaimi has channeled millions of dollars from primarily Qatari-based donors to al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen, Syria, Somalia, and Iraq. In October 2014, the Telegraph dubbed him “one of the world’s most prolific terrorist financiers.”

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Nuaimi ordered the transfer of nearly $600,000 to al-Qaeda in 2013 through Abu-Khalid al-Suri, al-Qaeda’s then-representative in Syria. Nuaimi allegedly intended to transfer nearly $50,000 more, according to the U.S. Treasury.

In September 2014, the U.N. Security Council added Nuaimi to its Al-Qaida sanctions list. 10 months later, the United Kingdom added him to the terrorists’ list too.

In October 2013, Nuaimi accused the Egyptian regime of killing and torturing civilians, in a phone interview with Al-Youm satellite channel. He insulted Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghafar. He incited people to violence and to criticize the Egyptian regime.

The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood allowed him to visit Egypt, following the uprising in 2011, although he was banned from entering Egypt, according to Belal al-Dawi, author of “Qatar and Israel” book.