A former U.S. congressman was indicted Wednesday for his links to a U.S.-based Islamic relief organization that allegedly supported an Afghan warlord, media reported.
The money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges against former Michigan Rep. Mark Deli Siljander are part of a 42-count indictment released by the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City, Missouri.
According to the indictment, Siljander allegedly received about 50,000 U.S. dollars in stolen federal funds from the charity, the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA).
The government said he was hired in 2004 to help get the charity removed from a congressional list of non-profit organizations suspected of supporting international terrorism.
The charges are part of a long-running case against the charity, which had been based in Columbia, Mo., before it was designated in 2004 by the Treasury Department as a suspected fundraiser for terrorists. The indictment alleges that IARA also employed a fundraising aide to Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks.
Siljander was also accused of lying to federal agents and prosecutors about his work for the group, which allegedly steered 260,000 dollars to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- an ally of the Taliban and al Qaeda.
The United States named Hekmatyar a "specially designated global terrorist" in 2003.
Siljander served in the U.S. House of Representatives from April 1981 to January 3, 1987. He is an owner and director of Global Strategies, Inc., a marketing and public relations company in Washington.
Siljander "vehemently denies the allegations in the indictment and will enter a not guilty plea," said his attorney, James Hobbs.
Source:Xinhua/Agencies
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