US Treasury Designates Close Friend of Qatari Monarch as Al-Qaeda Supporter

The US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on Abd al-Rahman bin ‘Umayr al-Nu’aymi, an al-Qaeda supporter and financer with close relations with the ruling monarch in Qatar.
Nu’aymi was named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. Nu’aymi was designated for providing financial support to al-Qaeda, Asbat al-Ansar, al-Qaeda in Iraq, and al-Shabaab.

“It is essential for countries to take proactive steps to disrupt terrorist financing, specially where al-Qaeda and its affiliates are concerned. We will continue to work with our partners in the (Persian) Gulf to ensure that charitable donations are not used to support violence in the region or elsewhere,” said US Under-Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen.

Nu’aymi is a Qatar-based terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided money and material support and conveyed communications to al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade. He was considered among the most prominent Qatar-based supporters of Iraqi Sunni extremists.

Nu’aymi is at the center of global support networks that fund and facilitate terrorism.

The US Treasury announced in December that as a result of the designation, any assets he may have under US jurisdiction are frozen, and US persons are generally prohibited from doing business with him.

In 2013, Nu’aymi ordered the transfer of nearly $600,000 to al-Qaeda via al-Qaeda’s representative in Syria, Abu-Khalid al-Suri, and intended to transfer nearly $50,000 more.

Nu’aymi has facilitated significant financial support to al-Qaeda in Iraq, and served as an interlocutor between al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders and Qatar-based donors. Nu’aymi reportedly oversaw the transfer of over $2 million per month to al-Qaeda in Iraq for a period of time. He also served as an interlocutor between these Qatari nationals and al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders. Between 2003 and 2004, Nu’aymi provided support to the Iraqi insurgency more broadly and served as a conduit for their broadcast materials to media outlets.

Nu’aymi as of mid-2012 provided approximately $250,000 to two US-designated al-Shabaab figures, Mukhtar Robow and Sheikh Hassan Aweys Ali, the latter of whom is also designated by the United Nations (UN). Also in 2012, Nu’aymi provided financial support to a charity headed by Yemen-based Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Humayqani, who channeled funding to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Nu’aymi is also the closest person to former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and is considered as the linking chain between the Qatari monarch and al-Qaeda.

On December 24, Mohammad Anas Barakeh and a number of his comrade terrorists in Syria confessed to have killed a number of civilians and soldiers and to have received money and weapons from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Aired on the Syrian TV, Barakeh said in his confessions that he worked on behalf of his father as Imam of the Great Mosque of al-Qadam, and with the beginning of events in the area he delivered a speech to provoke people to go in protests before he joined a group called “al-Baraa bin Malik” led by “Abu Hamza Zakaria”.

He added that his group attacked army checkpoints in al-Qadam area and other areas and they killed and slaughtered people.

He went on to say that members of so-called “Liwa al-Sahaba” kidnapped three soldiers and he gave fatwa to shoot them to death except for one who was slaughtered by “Abu Abdullah al-Salafi” after saying “Allahu Akbar”.

Terrorist Barakeh added that his group received instructions from outside the country to provoke the people against the state, pointing out that his group received SYP 5 million and arms from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.