Akberali Moawalla

Akberali Moawalla is a prominent businessman, notable for his business connections to the Bin Laden family of Saudi Arabia. He is a former business partner of Yeslam bin Ladin, half-brother of the more famous Osama bin Laden, and of the Geneva-based Saudi Investment Company (SICO), which represents the worldwide business interests of the Saudi Binladin Group.

On Dec. 5, 2001, French authorities opened an investigation into financial transfers executed in Paris between firms under SICO's umbrella, which also aroused the interest of investigative authorities in the U.S.

In particular, the chief investigator noted a €241 million transfer made to Pakistan in 2000 from an account belonging to an SBG subsidiary company called Cambridge, which was opened at Deutsche Bank in Geneva, according to Le Monde. U.S. authorities were aware of the existence of those funds, which they believe were transferred into an account belonging jointly to Osama bin Laden and someone of Pakistani nationality, according to the French paper.

Moawalla was also one of 23 (or 25) persons, including 13 members of the Bin Laden family who were allowed to leave on a charted flight that departed Logan airport on September 19, 2001.