A Missouri-based Islamic charity that was shut down after being identified by the federal government as a global terrorist organization admitted in federal court Wednesday that it illegally funneled $1.4 million to Iraq in violation of US sanctions.
A representative of the Islamic American Relief Agency pleaded guilty in Jefferson City, Missouri, to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The agency, once based in Columbia, also pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit money laundering and obstructing the administration of internal revenue laws.
At least three former IARA principals—the group’s chief, a fundraiser and a board member—have previously been sentenced in the wide-ranging scheme to illegally transfer money, and a former Michigan congressman went to prison for lobbying efforts for the group.
IARA, which served as the US office of the Sudan-based Islamic Relief Agency, took in between $1 million and $3 million in contributions annually from 1991 to 2003, federal authorities said.
The group was closed in October 2004 after being identified by the US Treasury Department as a specially designated global terrorist organization. After being indicted in 2008, IARA was reconstituted to resolve the criminal matter that led to Wednesday’s guilty plea, though the group and its governing board have agreed not to form a successor.
As part of the plea, IARA admitted it secretly funneled $1.375 million in cash or merchandise to Iraq in violation of United States economic sanctions dating to 1990.
