Pacha Wazir
Encyclopedia
Haji
Pacha Wazir is an Emirati citizen who ran a series of Hawala
banks before being arrested in 2003, amid accusations that he worked as the "main banker" for Osama bin Laden
.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service
alleges that Mohamed Harkat
was recorded on the phone with a "Haji Wazir" whom handled financial transactions for him, and described his bid to gain permanent resident status in Canada.
According to Rob Suskind, when Wazir was arrested and sent to a Central Intelligence Agency
black site
, he proved uncooperative and American officials illegally transferred his brother from Germany to the same site, and arrested his branch manager
in Karachi
. Members of the American Central Intelligence Agency
posed as distant cousins taking over the business after Wazir's illness, and continued financial transactions, entrapping many of his colleagues as well.
However, in his book Interrogation: An Education, Glenn Carle contradicts the claims Suskind made about Wazir. Carle was the CIA officer who handled the interrogation of Wazir, and according to his account, Carle concluded after the interrogation that Wazir cooperated and told the truth about his operations. Reporting on Wazir's story after the publication of Carle's book, Scott Horton for Harper's Magazine concludes, "The suggestion that Pacha Wazir was consciously managing bin Laden’s financial affairs was then, and remains today, utterly baseless." Perhaps the most shocking part of Carle's account is that his conclusions about Wazir were ignored by his superior's at the CIA. As a result, it was not until February 2010 was Wazir released and sent home to Afghanistan.
Hajji
Hajji or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name...
Pacha Wazir is an Emirati citizen who ran a series of Hawala
Hawala
Hawala is an informal value transfer system based on the performance and honor of a huge network of money brokers, which are primarily located in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and South Asia...
banks before being arrested in 2003, amid accusations that he worked as the "main banker" for Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
alleges that Mohamed Harkat
Mohamed Harkat
Born in Algeria, Mohamed Harkat has drawn Canadian media attention as being one of several Muslim-Canadians alleged to have ties to terrorism and imprisoned under security certificates. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleges that he entered the country as a sleeper agent for al-Qaeda...
was recorded on the phone with a "Haji Wazir" whom handled financial transactions for him, and described his bid to gain permanent resident status in Canada.
According to Rob Suskind, when Wazir was arrested and sent to a Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
black site
Black site
In military terminology, a black site is a location at which an unacknowledged black project is conducted. Recently, the term has gained notoriety in describing secret prisons operated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency , generally outside of U.S. territory and legal jurisdiction. It...
, he proved uncooperative and American officials illegally transferred his brother from Germany to the same site, and arrested his branch manager
Branch manager
A branch manager oversees a division or office of a large business or organization, operating locally or with a particular function. Their responsibility is to ensure that payments to employees are correct, their vacation pay arrives on time and they receive proper care if they are injured while...
in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. Members of the American Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
posed as distant cousins taking over the business after Wazir's illness, and continued financial transactions, entrapping many of his colleagues as well.
However, in his book Interrogation: An Education, Glenn Carle contradicts the claims Suskind made about Wazir. Carle was the CIA officer who handled the interrogation of Wazir, and according to his account, Carle concluded after the interrogation that Wazir cooperated and told the truth about his operations. Reporting on Wazir's story after the publication of Carle's book, Scott Horton for Harper's Magazine concludes, "The suggestion that Pacha Wazir was consciously managing bin Laden’s financial affairs was then, and remains today, utterly baseless." Perhaps the most shocking part of Carle's account is that his conclusions about Wazir were ignored by his superior's at the CIA. As a result, it was not until February 2010 was Wazir released and sent home to Afghanistan.