The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department recently imposed sanctions on a Sri Lankan who was identified as a business associate of a financier for the Al-Qaeda terrorist organisation. The businessman, according to the documents published by the US has been identified as Mohamad Irshad Mohamad Haris Nizar, a resident of China Fort in Beruwala.
He has been accused of having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, a business partner and a relative, Ahmed Luqman Talib (Talib), previously designated by the agency for facilitating the international movement of individuals and finances in furtherance of al-Qaeda’s objectives.
Easter Sunday attack
Information on Talib is first revealed following the Easter Sunday attack which occurred in April 2019. The US had actively provided information on Talib after the Criminal Investigations Department was able to elicit a significant hoard of details about the suspect, his links and dealings.
All this information, including details about his family, has also been included in the final report of the Presidential Commission appointed to inquire into the Easter Sunday Attack.
According to this information, Ahmad Luqman Talib was one of the founding members of the Jamaat Islamia student movement in Sri Lanka which was established in 1980. He had later migrated along with his family to Australia in 1995 and currently resides there after obtaining permanent residency status.
However, Talib has continued his familial links with Sri Lanka leading to his name cropping up during the Easter Sunday investigation. Talib is said to be a father of two sons, namely Luqman Talib Ismail and Luqman Talib Ahamed also known as Abu Abdullah.
Luqman Talib Ahamed aka Abu Abdullah is an Australian citizen and has visited Sri Lanka several times since 2014. It is believed he had actively worked to spread Islamic extremism in Sri Lanka. He is said to have last visited Sri Lanka on December 20, 2017 and left a month later according to law enforcement agencies.
In fact, it was the name of Abu Abdullah that was first revealed during investigations into the Easter Sunday attack during the questioning of a suspect identified as Ibrahim Sadiq Abdullah aka Abu Umar.
Buddha statues in Mawanella
Sadiq, according to police, is a mastermind of the attack and led the attack on the Buddha statues in Mawanella. He was arrested while hiding at a shoe shop in Gampola after the terror attack.
It was revealed that he had maintained connections with Abu Abdullah since 2014 and he along with Talib had funded Abu Umar’s trip to Turkey for a 40-day armed training program.
The police said Abu Umar had travelled to Turkey and crossed over to Syria for training in 2014. At the time, Abu Umar is said to have been the leader of the Jamaat Islami student movement.
The US security agencies also took an interest in these individuals as they too were involved in the Easter Sunday attack after it was revealed some suspects had links to terror outfits in Syria.
But Talib refuted these allegations claiming he is a professor of public health and researcher who has dedicated his life to the betterment of society. He even threatened the Sri Lankan Government with legal action for what he said were defamatory statements about him.
Authorities in Qatar
However, no legal action has been initiated to date. It is interesting to note, the threat of legal action came only after he was detained by the authorities in Qatar for his connections to the attack.
Meanwhile, businessman Mohamad Irshad Mohamad Haris Nizar came under the radar of US agencies after getting into business with one of Talib’s sons, Luqman Talib Ismail. According to US investigative agencies, Ismail had provided financial facilities to the Al-Qaeda terrorist organisation.
Ismail, born in the United Kingdom had spent most of his life in Australia with his parents. According to investigations Nizar and Ismail had got to know each other in Beruwala.
Nizar is said to be running a foreign employment agency and allegedly engaged in human smuggling and Hawala transactions, as a foreign money changer with links to the Hawala operators. Intelligence reports show Nizar is also a gem merchant with businesses in Madagascar off the East Coast of Africa since 2006.
‘Gem Hub’
While Talib’s wife and Nizar are said to be one-time neighbours in Beruwala, Ismail got to know Nizar on a visit to Sri Lanka in 2016. During this visit, Ismail had suggested the duo go into business together and export gems to Australia to which Nizar had agreed. They went on to set up a business named ‘Gem Hub’ and exported their first stock of gems in 2018. They extend their operations to Qatar and then the US.
US agencies tracked Ismail and identify him as a financier of terror, informing the Australian authorities as well. He was arrested by the Australian police in 2021. Following his arrest, the US continues investigations into his business activities, where they are able to reveal information about Nizar.
According to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Nizar and Ismail’s Sri Lanka-based businesses have generated an annual profit of US$ 200,000. All assets of Nizar within the US have been frozen since.
Terror-related activities
However, while all properties belonging to Ismail, including his mother’s ancestral home in Beruwala have been seized by the authorities Nizar continues to live in Beruwala while engaged in business without any hindrance. Nizar said he was unaware of Ismail’s terror-related activities and merely maintained a business relationship with the terror suspect.
Ismail continues to be incarcerated in Australia while Nizar said Ismail owes him a significant sum of money to date. However, despite his claims, Nizar has now been designated by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, business partner and a relative, Ahmed Luqman Talib (Talib), previously designated by the agency for facilitating the international movement of individuals and finances in furtherance of al-Qaeda’s objectives.
Despite the US taking steps against Nizar, it is unclear if Sri Lankan authorities have carried out a satisfactory investigation into Nizar.
Cinnamon Grand Hotel
According to intelligence agencies, Inshad Ahamed, one of the suicide bombers that targeted the Cinnamon Grand Hotel was also a close acquaintance of Ahamed. But with no investigation into him, Nizar is now said to be expanding his businesses further with the support of a Pakistani businessman identified as Ibar Khan.