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Bin Laden assets frozen
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October 1, 2001: 6:00 p.m. ET
French bank freezes account used by Al Shamal bank, linked to Bin Laden
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Credit Lyonnais S.A. has frozen assets belonging to the Al Shamal Islamic bank, which is allegedly associated with terrorist Osama Bin Laden, within the past few days, a spokesman told CNNfn.com.
The small commercial account is connected to the financing of Sudan's cotton crop. "It's a small account and not a lot of operations," a Credit Lyonnais spokesman said. "The bank had opened documentary credits linked to operations in the trading of cotton."
Paris-based Credit Lyonnais froze the account as a precaution, the spokesman said. The account had been open for "a few years," he said.
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Osama bin Laden
believed to be behind WTC attack | |
Osama bin Laden is believed to behind the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon, outside of Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11.
Bin Laden helped establish the Sudan-based Al Shamal Bank in 1996, according to State Department records.
Credit Lyonnais's Geneva office worked with the Al Shamal, the spokesman said.
A source at Credit Lyonnais said the account was relatively minor, containing only a few thousand [Swiss] francs. ]
News of Credit Lyonnais actions comes as the Britain announced Monday that it has frozen almost $90 million of assets belonging to Afghanistan's Taliban regime. The British government is also planning to tighten laws on money laundering by monitoring suspect bank accounts and freezing suspect money funds.
Separately, UBS AG said it has identified four small payment flows葉hree in the U.S. and one in Europe葉hat could be worthy of investigation.
UBS said it constantly screens client databases for suspicious relationships or transaction.
Zurich, Switzerland-based UBS (UBS: down $0.07 to $46.08, Research, Estimates) did not provide further information. 
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