Ex-Congressman Charged in Terror Finance Case

Jan. 16, 2007— -- A former U.S. congressman has been charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice for allegedly helping a charity that the government believes has ties to an al Qaeda and Taliban supporter.

Mark Deli Siljander, a former Republican congressman from Michigan who also served one year as a delegate to the United Nations, is accused of lobbying the Senate Finance Committee to have the Islamic American Relief Agency removed from a list of nonprofit organizations suspected of supporting terrorism. The group has denied that it supports terror.

Siljander, who served in Congress from 1981-87, also allegedly accepted $50,000 in stolen government funds for his lobbying activity. The money, the government says, was stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development by the IARA when the charity's contract with the government was terminated.

Voice and e-mail messages left at Siljander's business, Global Strategies Inc., weren't immediately returned, but a statement issued through the Special Guests publicity firm said Siljander "vehemently denies the allegations in the Indictment and will enter a not guilty plea."

"Mr. Siljander was never involved with raising money for international terrorism nor involved in any alleged efforts by IARA to engage in any prohibited financial transactions," the statement continued.

IARA had previously held agreements with U.S.AID for relief projects in Mali, which ended in 1999 after IARA was unable to meet the terms of the agreement by funding matching contributions, according to the U.S. government. IARA is accused of keeping almost $85,000 of the U.S.AID money instead of returning it.

"This superseding indictment paints a troubling picture of an American charity organization that engaged in transactions for the benefit of terrorists and conspired with a former United States congressman to convert stolen federal funds into payment for his advocacy on behalf of the charity," Assistant Attorney General Ken Wainstein said in a statement.

According to the indictment, Siljander allegedly lied to FBI agents when he told them in Dec. 2005 that "the payments he had received from the defendant IARA were charitable donations intended to assist him in writing a book about bridging the gap between Islam and Christianity."

"[Siljander's] upcoming book, A Deadly Misunderstanding, A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim Christian Divide, the existence of which is questioned in the indictment, is being released soon by Harper Collins," according to Siljander's statement. The book is slated for an April release, according to the website of his literary agent.

IARA allegedly sent $130,000 to Pakistan for the benefit of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a man the government considers a "specially designated global terrorist" for his support of al Qaeda and the Taliban. The designation aims to allow the government to clamp down on financing operations of groups or individuals with ties to terrorist activity.

"The counts against IARA, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, are separate and have nothing to do with the counts against the Congressman," Siljander's statement added.

The charity allegedly used an orphanage to launder the money. "An organization right here in the American heartland allegedly sent funds to Pakistan for the benefit of a specially designated global terrorist with ties to al Qaeda and the Taliban," U.S. attorney John Wood said in a statement.