U.S. lawyer claims Saudis funded Bali bombing

U.S. lawyer claims Saudis funded Bali bombing

Agence France-Presse, Sydney, Australia

A U.S. lawyer claimed on Tuesday to have found evidence that
money from Saudi Arabia was used to fund terrorist cells linked
to the October bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

The attorney, Allan Gerson, said he traced Saudi funds through
terror cells in Europe and on to groups in Bali linked to the
bombings which killed over 200 people, 89 of them Australian.

"When we looked at the actual evidence, we found out, to our
surprise, how vast the network of support was, it extended way
beyond cells in Europe to cells in Bali," Gerson told Australian
Broadcasting Corp. radio.

"I discovered that connection to the Bali bombing," he said.

Gerson has been leading a bid on behalf of victims of the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States to sue Saudi Arabian
banks, charities and royal family members for allegedly helping
fund the terrorists.

He said the evidence gathered during research for that suit
showed that Saudis gave money to terrorists in Europe who
traveled to Bali and likely provided funds for the October
carbombings.

The bombings have been blamed on a radical regional group,
Jamaah Islamiyah, which allegedly has links to the al-Qaeda
network that carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I have come across evidence that shows you can connect the
dots between terror cells in Europe that received financing from
individuals and entities in Saudi Arabia.

"Those terrorists cells in Europe definitely had connections
with Bali,"he said.

Gerson said he could not reveal too many details of his
evidence because it had been gathered through judicial
cooperation with European governments.