The leader of an Islamic militant group, his wife, and five brothers who work at a Texas computer firm were indicted on charges of trafficking with terrorist states Libya and Syria, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced at a Justice Department news conference in Washington December 18.

Earlier, four of the brothers were arrested in Texas by federal anti-terrorism agents. The fifth brother was already in custody. The brothers worked at Infocom, a computer company in Richardson, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

Ashcroft said the indictments named Mousa Abu Marzook, a leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas,and his wife. Both are believed to be in the Middle East.

The four brothers arrested were company Vice President Ghassan Elashi, 48, who was also identified as a director of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, which was shut down in December 2001 after the Treasury Department accused the self-described charity of being a Hamas front and seized its assets.

Also arrested were Bayan Elashi, 47, Basman Elashi and Hazim Elashi, both 41.

"The war against terror is a war of accountants and auditors as well as weaponry and soldiers," Ashcroft said. "We will pursue the financiers of terror as well as pursue the thugs who do their dirty work."

Ashcroft characterized Marzook as a senior leader of Hamas. He said Marzook and his wife were accused of conspiring to violate U.S. laws that prohibit dealing in terrorist funds.

The five brothers were charged with selling computers and computer parts to Libya and Syria, both designated by the United States government as state sponsors of terrorism.

The 33-count indictment accuses the group of illegal exports to Syria and Libya, money laundering, dealing in the property of a designated terrorist and making false statements, Ashcroft said.

The attorney general said that the defendants could received up to 45 years each in prison if convicted, and were also subject to possible fines up to $7.2 million.

United States Department of Justice
Prepared Remarks of Attorney General John Ashcroft
News Conference December 18, 2002

Good afternoon.

Yesterday, a federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment against a senior leader of Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook, for conspiring to violate U.S. laws that prohibit dealings in terrorist funds. Also charged and arrested by authorities this morning is Ghassan Elashi, the Chairman of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. Elashi and four of his brothers -- all of whom are employees of the Richardson, Texas-based INFOCOM Corporation -- are charged with selling computers and computer parts to Libya and Syria, both designated state sponsors of terrorism.

The following individuals are charged in the 33-count indictment: Marzook, his wife, Nadia Elashi, the five Elashi brothers, and INFOCOM Corporation. If convicted, the defendants will face the following maximum penalties:

-- 10 years in prison on charges of illegal exports to Syria and Libya,
-- 10-to-20 years for money laundering,
-- 10 years for dealing in the property of a designated terrorist, and
-- 5 years in prison for making false statements.

-- The defendants could also be subject to fines of up to 7.2 million dollars.

-- The war against terror is a war of audits and accountants as well as a war of weaponry and soldiers. Today's charges against a senior leader of Hamas are the latest in an aggressive campaign to identify, disrupt and destroy the sources of funding that make terrorism possible. The Department of Justice has conducted investigations into terrorist financing in 22 states, secured 23 convictions, and worked with the Treasury Department to freeze $112 million in terrorist-related funds. At this time, material support for terrorism charges are pending against individuals in Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Buffalo, San Diego, and Houston. And today, seven individuals and one corporation in Dallas stand charged with terrorist financing.

-- Terrorist money-men should know this: We are hunting down the murderers you support, and we will hunt you down. Just as we will prosecute the terrorist who plants a bomb, we will prosecute the terrorist supporter who writes a check. We will follow the money of terror. And we will pursue the financiers of terror as aggressively as we pursue the thugs who do their dirty work.

-- In December 2001, I joined the President and the Secretary of the Treasury in announcing the terrorist designation of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. While styling itself a charity, the Holy Land Foundation was in fact the North American front for Hamas, the most lethal of the Palestinian terrorist groups. Hamas has claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds of innocent persons in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, including two dozen Americans.

-- At the same time we announced the Holy Land Foundation's terrorist designation, we noted an apparent close association between the Holy Land Foundation and a company known as INFOCOM. On September 7, 2001 -- just four days before the September 11 terrorist attacks -- the FBI's North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force searched the offices of INFOCOM, which were located in the same office park and shared some of the same employees with the Holy Land Foundation. In addition, both INFOCOM and the Holy Land Foundation received their seed money from one of the defendants, Mousa Abu Marzook. In 1995, pursuant to the law, Marzook was specially designated as a global terrorist whose actions threatened the Middle East peace process.

-- Today's indictment is a result of the investigation of the INFOCOM corporation. The indictment alleges that Marzook and his wife, a cousin of the Elashi brothers, engaged in a scheme with INFOCOM officials to disguise Marzook's capital investment in the company and to continue to receive profits from INFOCOM.

-- In addition, INFOCOM and its employees are charged with making illegal shipments of computers and computer technology to state sponsors of terrorism, Libya and Syria. The indictment further alleges that INFOCOM and the Elashi brothers attempted to conceal these shipments from authorities.

-- Investigations of this size and scope are always a collaborative process. Today's indictment is the result of the dedication of attorneys and agents working under the direction of U.S. Attorney Jane Boyle, who joins me here today. Also central to this case was the work of the Terrorist Financing Task Force, which is directed by Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Michael Chertoff. I thank both Jane Boyle and Michael Chertoff for their service and leadership.

-- In bringing these cases, our terrorist financing prosecutors relied on the expertise of the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement. Michael Garcia, the former head of the Office of Export Enforcement and now the acting Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, deserves the thanks and praise of all Americans for his work on this case. In addition, I thank Lisa Prager, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, for her tremendous contribution to this case. I also recognize Douglas Browning, Deputy Commissioner of the US Customs Service for his agency's work in this matter.

-- Evidence for these charges was developed with the assistance of a number of the federal and state agencies represented on the North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Secret Service, the Customs Service, the Department of State and the Dallas, Plano, Addison and Richardson Texas Police Departments. David Palmer, chief of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, joins me for this announcement. On behalf of all Americans, I thank David Palmer and the dedicated personnel of all these agencies and departments for the significant step forward in the war on terror we take today.

-- Because these are detailed charges, I have asked U.S. Attorney Jane Boyle and Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff to be available to brief you immediately following this announcement. Thank you.