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Kuwait has been frequently accused of supporting terrorism financing within its borders.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Kuwait has been described as the world's biggest source of terrorism funding, particularly for ISIS and Al-Qaeda.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
In 2014, David S. Cohen, then Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, accused the Kuwaiti government of supporting terrorism.[5] Since the early 1990s, accusations of Kuwait funding terrorism have been very common and come from a wide variety of sources including intelligence reports, government officials, scholarly research, and renowned journalists.[1][2][3][7][8][9][6][10][4][5] Kuwait is listed as sources of militant money in Afghanistan and Pakistan.[11][12] Kuwait is described as a "source of funds and a key transit point" for al-Qaeda and other militant groups.[12][11]
On 26 June 2015, a suicide bombing took place at a Shia mosque in Kuwait City, consequently 27 people died.[13] ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.[14] It was the largest terrorism attack in Kuwait's history. In the aftermath, a lawsuit was filed accusing the Kuwaiti government of negligence and direct responsibility for the terror attack.[15][16]
The Kuwait-based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) appears on the United States State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.[5] The branches in Pakistan and Afghanistan allegedly became corrupted by members of al-Qaeda; those two branches were embargoed on 9 January 2002 by the United States.[17][18] The government of Russia has banned RIHS from operating anywhere in Russia and has deemed the society to be a terrorist organisation.[19]
A release from the Treasury's Press Office alleged that the Pakistan office, under the direction of Abd al-Muhsin al-Libi, had inflated the number of orphans under its care.[20] The United States has the organization listed on the OFAC SDN list (as Administration of the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society Committee), thus prohibiting U.S. citizens and permanent residents from doing business with the Kuwaiti organization.
According to the Spanish intelligence agency CNI, Kuwait provided funding and aid to Islamic associations and congregations in Spain through its subsidiary branch of RIHS. Kuwait this way funded mosques in Reus and Torredembarra who spread an ideology contrary to the integration of Muslims into Spanish society and fostering hatred of non-Muslims.[21]
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The order targets the Afghan Support Committee (ASC) and the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS). According to U.S. officials, the ASC was set up by bin Laden and has offices in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The RIHS is a Kuwaiti-based non-governmental organization whose offices in Pakistan and Afghanistan are associated with the ASC. The Treasury action affects the society's offices in Pakistan and Afghanistan but not in Kuwait. O'Neill said the two groups have portrayed themselves as legitimate charitable organizations but have defrauded donors by diverting money to support terrorist activities.
Two Kuwaiti organizations are on a list of 17 terrorist groups published by Russia on Friday. This list, carried by "Rossiikaya gazeta " and signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, includes the Social Reform Society and the Society for Revival of Islamic Heritage. According to an announcement made by Russia these organizations are banned in Russia and acknowledged as terrorist organizations in the Russian Federation.
Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) The RIHS is a Kuwaiti-based non-governmental organization. In Pakistan and Afghanistan it is affiliated with ASC. The Peshawar, Pakistan office director for RIHS is Abd al-Muhsin Al-Libi, who also serves as the ASC manager in Peshawar. Al-Libi has provided Usama bin Laden and his associates with facilities in Peshawar, and has carried money and messages on behalf of Usama bin Laden. The Pakistan office defrauded RIHS donors to fund terrorism. In order to obtain additional funds from the Kuwait RIHS headquarters, the RIHS office in Pakistan padded the number of orphans it claimed to care for by providing names of orphans that did not exist or who had died. Funds then sent for the purpose of caring for the non-existent or dead orphans were instead diverted to al-Qaida terrorists. There is no evidence at this point that this financing was done with the knowledge of RIHS in Kuwait.