Kuwait files terrorism charges against Australian extremist

Kuwait has filed terrorism charges against an Australian citizen Hicham Zahab, a former extremist accused of playing a key role in smuggling and supplying the Islamic State (IS) organization with surface-to-air missiles, reports The Australian.

According to a press statement issued by the Embassy of Kuwait in Canberra, the criminal charges against the accused are related to supporting and financing terrorism and joining the terrorist organization DAESH as well as money laundering and transferring funds from Australia via a third party to a local company in Kuwait.

Kuwait has not charged Zahab’s wife Aminah, his son Mohammad and daughter-in-law Mariam Raad. The newspaper indicated that at least one, if not all four, is suspected to be in Syria. Last year, The Australian revealed that NSW Supreme Court ordered the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to seize more than $500,000 from the accounts of Zahab, Aminah, Mohammad and Mariam Raad.

The AFP had suspected the family of using international travel cards and a computer consulting company based on the Middle East to remit funds out of Australia for the benefit of IS. The money seized was nearly half the proceeds of the sale of the family’s  Condell Park home in southwest Sydney, which was sold for $1,051,000 in May last year. The Australian revealed that the allegations against Zahab and another Australian citizen Rabia Dahab have been presented to the courts in Kuwait

Source: KUNA