The day after last month’s explosion and fire at 514 Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis, an FBI agent named Greg Boosalis reassured Minnesotans that there was no evidence of terrorist activity in connection with the devastating explosion.

I wondered at the time — and still wonder — how the FBI could be so certain less than forty-eight hours after the blast that no terrorism was involved. The immediate neighborhood of the demolished building is a known hotbed of terrorist activity, and is especially notorious for the recruitment of mujahideen and funds for the jihad being waged by al-Shabaab in Somalia.

As it turns out, the FBI was absolutely derelict in ruling out a terrorist connection with 514 Cedar Avenue South. Our Minnesota correspondent Henrietta has examined property and business license records for the city of Minneapolis, and found a clear trail leading from the Dar al-Hijrah Mosque to the destroyed building, and from there to a pair of convicted money-launderers for al-Shabaab.

The Al-Shabaab Connection

by Henrietta

A little sleuthing has revealed some interesting facts regarding the Cedar-Riverside property that exploded and burned on January 1, 2014 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Via the City of Minneapolis Property Information website I learned that the building was owned and managed by the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque and Wadani Properties.

When I typed in 514 Cedar Ave S, the address of the Otanga Grocery, this is what popped up:

Address: 514 CEDAR AVE S APN: 2602924410069 Type: Establishment



According to the City of Minneapolis Property Information website, the Otanga Grocery, 514 Cedar Avenue S, is owned by the Dar Al-Hijrah Cultural Center, 504 Cedar Ave S. Go to the “Business Licenses” tab and click on “Show the Details”: Otanga Grocery — 514 Cedar Ave S is listed.

So, according to the City of Minneapolis Property Information website, the Otanga Grocery located at 514 Cedar Ave S was/is owned by the Dar Al-Hijrah Cultural Center.

When I typed in 510 Cedar Ave S Wadani Properties was listed as the owner and taxpayer:

Property

Address: Property ID: 2602924410070 510CedarAveS Minneapolis, MN 55454

Owner

Wadani Properties Llc Mpls Mn 55404

Taxpayer

Wadani Properties Llc

2200 Franklin Ave E Minneapolis Mn 55404

Under the “Structures at this Address” tab CRA RETAIL & APARTMENTS was listed at 510 Cedar Ave S and 512 Cedar Ave S.

According to the City of Minneapolis Property Information, 2200 Franklin Avenue East, #204, lists Carrier & Sales Llc, not Wadani Properties, as the owner and taxpayer. A quick Google search revealed that Carrier & Sales Llc is a company that primarily operates in the Real Estate Property Managers industry.

Next I did a Google search for Wadani Properties. Business Profiles lists:

Garad Nor as the Registered Agent

Abdulkadir Abdullahi as the Manager

This is where it gets very interesting. A Google search on Abdulkadir Abdullahi revealed that he is Vice President of Dar Al Tawakul General Trading LLC:

Registered Agent: Secretary Of The State

30 Trinity Street

Hartford, CT 06106-0470 Filing State: Connecticut (CT) Domestic State: Minnesota (MN) Principal Address: 2200 E. Franklin Ave.

Ste. 204

Minneapolis, MN 55404 Mailing Address: 2200 E. Franklin Ave.

Ste. 204

Minneapolis, MN 55404



Vice President

Abdullahi Abdulkadir

2200 E. Franklin Ave.

Ste. 204

Minneapolis, MN 55404 Director

Abidinasir Nur

2200 E. Franklin Ave.

Ste. 204

Minneapolis, MN 55404 President

Garad Nor

2200 E. Franklin Ave.

Ste. 204

Minneapolis, MN 55404

A search on Dar Al Tawakul General Trading LLC brought up this legal document [pdf] posted at the Investigative Project on Terrorism. This document is the Indictment of the two Rochester women who were found guilty of funding the terrorists, al Shabaab. Dar Al Tawakul General Trading LLC was listed as one of the “hawala money remittance systems” that the funds was transmitted through to al Shabaab. Scroll down to page 5, # 20 in the PDF.

Afterword from the Baron

The pdf of the indictment document Henrietta located was image-only — that is, there was no text component to extract. I printed all eleven pages, scanned them, and ran the results through OCR software to produce the text of the indictment. The results are below the jump, for anyone who is interested in copying or excerpting from the various counts against the two defendants.

The indictment was first filed on July 25, 2009. The most recent activity was on April 18, 2012 (defendant released to a halfway house). See PlainSite for details.

The formatting of the original document has been altered: centered text has been left-justified, and underlined words now appear in bold.

I corrected all the OCR errors I could find. If readers see any further discrepancies in this text, please leave a note in the comments, and I’ll make the relevant corrections.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA

FILED UNDER SEAL

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v.

1. AMINA FARAH ALI,

a/k/a Amina Aden,

a/k/a Amina Adan,

a/k/a Amina Wadaado, and

2. HAWO MOHAMED HASSAN,

a/k/a Halima Hassan,

a/k/a Halimo Hassan,



Defendants.

INDICTMENT CR 10-187 PJD/FLN

(18 U.S.C. § 2339B(a) (l))

(18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2))

THE UNITED STATES GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS

At all times relevant to this indictment:

1. Defendant AMINA FARAH ALI, a/k/a Amina Aden, a/k/a Amina Adan, a/k/a Amina Wadaado, was a Somali national who became a United States citizen in August 2004 and lived in Rochester in the District of Minnesota.

2. Defendant HAWO MOHAMED HASSAN, a/k/a. Halima Hassan, a/k/a Halimo Hassan, was a Somali national who became a United States citizen in March 2008 and lived in Rochester in the District of Minnesota.

[U.S. v. Amina Farah Ali, et al. Page 2]

3. Al Shabaab was a terrorist organization based in Somalia, whose primary objective was the violent overthrow of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (“TFG”).

4. On or about February 26, 2008, the U.S. Department of State designated al Shabaab as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. The designation remains in effect as of this date. Under the designation, al Shabaab is also known as al Shabab, Shabaab, the Youth, Mujahidin al-Shabaab Movement, Mujahideen Youth Movement, Mujahidin Youth Movement, MYM, Harakat Shabab al¬-Mujahidin, Hizbul Shabaab, Hisb’ul Shabaab, al Shabaab al Islamiya, Youth Wing, al Shabaab al Islaam, al Shabaab al Jihaad, and the Unity of Islamic Youth. “Al Shabaab” is an Arabic word that loosely translates to “the Youth” and is commonly used in the Somali language Al Shabaab and its members are commonly referred to, and known as “the Youth,” “the young guys,” and “the young men.”

5. Unindicted Conspirator 1 (“UC1”) was a member of al Shabaab who was an al Shabaab financial representative and then became the al Shabaab administrative governor for the Bay and Bakool regions in Southern Somalia, after al¬-Shabaab seized control of those regions in February 2009.

6. Unindicted Conspirator 2 (“UC2”) was a subordinate of UC1, who received funds sent to al Shabaab via Somali telephone

[U.S. v. Amina Farah Ali, et al. Page 3]

number 25215332225.

7. Unindicted Conspirator 3 (“UC3”) 11) was a subordinate of UC1 who received funds sent to al Shabaab via Somali telephone number 25215401510.

8. Unindicted Conspirator 4 (“UC4”) was a subordinate of UC1, who received funds sent to al Shabaab via Somali telephone numbers 25215104242 and 25215408856.

9. Unindicted Conspirator 5 (“UC5”) was a senior member of al Shabaab’s women’s department, who conducted lectures and received funds sent to al Shabaab via Somali telephone number 25215875171.

10. Unindicted Conspirator 6 (“UC6”) was a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who assisted ALI in collecting and forwarding funds to al Shabaab.

11. Unindicted Conspirator 7 (“UC7”) was a resident of Columbus, Ohio who assisted ALI in collecting and forwarding funds to al Shabaab.

12. Jihad is an Arabic word which means, among other things, “holy war.” As used in this indictment, it refers to al-¬Shabaab’s and other militias’ efforts to topple the TFG through violence.

13. Mujahidin is an Arabic word which means “holy warriors.” Mujahid is the singular form of mujahidin.

[U.S. v. Amina Farah Ali, et al. Page 4]

COUNT 1

(Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Foreign Terrorist Organization)

14. The allegations set forth in paragraphs I through 13 are realleged and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

15. From on or about September 17, 2008, through on or about July 19, 2009, in the District of Minnesota, and elsewhere, the defendants,

AMINA FARAH ALI,

a/k/a Amina Aden,

a/k/a Amina Adan,

a/k/a Amina Wadaado, and

HAWO MOHAMED HASSAN,

a/k/a Halima Hassan,

a/k/a Halimo Hassan,

who were United States citizens, did knowingly conspire, confederate and agree with each other and with others, known and unknown to the grand jury, knowingly to provide material support and resources, namely money, to al¬-Shabaab, which was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization on February 26, 2008, pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339B(a) (1).

Manner and means

The manner and means by which the conspiracy was sought to be accomplished included:

16. it was a part of the conspiracy that ALI communicated by

[U.S. v. Amina Farah Ali, et al. Page 5]

telephone with persons in Somalia, who requested financial assistance for al Shabaab.

17. It was further a part of the conspiracy that ALI, HASSAN, and others raised funds by soliciting door¬-to door among Somali communities located in Rochester and Minneapolis, and elsewhere in the United States and Canada, some of which funds ALI directed to al Shabaab.

18. It was further a part of the conspiracy that ALI, HASSAN, and others raised funds for al Shabaab by direct appeal to participants in teleconferences in which they and other speakers encouraged financial contributions to support violent jihad in Somalia, which contributions ALI directed to al Shabaab.

19. It was further a part of the conspiracy that ALI and others raised funds for al Shabaab under the false pretense that the funds were for the poor and needy.

20. It was further a part of the conspiracy that ALI and others acting at her direction transmitted funds to al Shabaab through the hawala money remittance system, using Dar al Tawakul General Trading, LLC, a/k/a Tawakal Money Express; Kaah Express, LLC; Dahabshiil; Dahabshil, Inc.; Qaran Express US, Inc.; Amaana Money Transfer; and Mustaqbal Express, among others.

21. It was further a part of the conspiracy that ALI and others used false and. fictitious names to identify the recipient of

[U.S. v. Amina Farah Ali, et al. Page 6]

the funds in order to conceal that the funds were being provided to al Shabaab.

Overt Acts

22. On or about September 22, 2008, ALI called UC1 in Somalia to verify he had received approximately $1060 sent to him under the name Nimco Ali Mohamed.

23. On or about October 23, 2008, ALI spoke with UC5, who was in Somalia, asking about the availability of a speaker to address ALI’s audience in an upcoming teleconference.

24. On or about October 26, 2008, ALI hosted a fund raising teleconference in which UC5 told the listeners that it was not the time to help the poor and needy in Somalia; rather, the priority was to give to the mujahidin.

25. on or about October 26, 2008, ALI and HASSAN recorded approximately $2,100 in pledges at the conclusion of the teleconference.

26. On or about November 7, 2008, ALI told UC6, to contact people from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, who had pledged contributions, and to collect those funds.

27. On or about December 6, 2008, ALI told another that she had sent funds to al Shabaab stating that she sent the money to the “brothers, . . . to their account, towards [UC1] .”

28. on or about January 12, 2009, ALI directed UC7 to “always

[U.S. v. Amina Farah Ali, et al. Page 7]

collect under the name of the poor” so that those funds could be sent to the mujahidin in Somalia.

29. On or about February 10, 2009, ALI conducted another fund raising teleconference in which she delivered a lecture telling her listeners to “forget about the other charities” and focus on “the Jihad.”

30. On or about February 10, 2009, at the conclusion of the teleconference, HASSAN told the audience that, if they pledged, their names and contact information would be recorded but that ALI would be the one to contact them to collect the funds.

31. On or about February 16, 2009, UC1 told ALI that any funds, regardless of their purpose, should be directed to his assistant, UC4, at an account number UC4 would provide.

32. On or about February 17, 2009, ALI asked UC1 if she could make up names to use as the recipients of funds she was sending to al Shabaab like she had done in the past.

33. On or about February 23, 2009, ALI directed another person to send $1000 to al Shabaab account number 25215401510 using the false name Shamso Ali Ahmed as the recipient of the funds,

34. On or about April 3, 2009, ALI told HASSAN that the purpose for the fund raising was to support al Shabaab, by stating, “We are with the Youth.”

35. On or about April 17, 2009, ALI directed another to send

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$1600 to Somalia using two different hawalas and sending half to the name Shamso Ali Ahmed and the other half to Maryann Muse Bakar, at the same telephone number 25215401510.

36. On or about May 20, 2009, ALI contacted UC4 and told her two transfers totaling $1200 had been sent to a new al-¬Shabaab account number ending in 4242, which account number ALI had received from UC1.

37. On or about July 14, 2009, following the FBI’s execution of a search warrant at ALI’s residence, ALI contacted UC1 and stated that “I was questioned by the enemy here . . . . they took all my stuff and are investigating it . . . do not accept calls from anyone.”

38. Each of Counts 2 through 13 below is incorporated as an overt act as if fully set forth herein.

COUNTS 2-13

(Material Support to Foreign Terrorist Organization)

39. The allegations set forth in paragraphs 1 through 13 are realleged and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

40. on or about the dates alleged below, in the District of Minnesota, the defendant,

AMINA FARAH ALI,

a/k/a Amina Aden,

a/k/a Amina Adan,

a/k/a Amina Wadaado,

[U.S. v. Amina Farah Ali, et al. Page 9]

who was a United States citizen, did knowingly provide and attempt to provide material support and resources, namely, money in the approximate amounts alleged below, to al Shabaab, which was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization on February 26, 2008, pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act:

Count Date Amount 2 September 17, 2008 $1063 3 October 30, 2008 $1000 4 November 2, 2008 $500 5 February 12, 2009 $750 6 February 23, 2009 $1000 7 February 23, 2009 $1000 8 March 10, 2009 $550 9 March 14, 2009 $1195 10 May 18, 2009 $500 11 May 18, 2009 $500 12 May 31, 2009 $250 13 July 5, 2009 $300



All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339B(a) (1).

COUNT 14

(False Statement)

41, The allegations set forth in paragraphs 1 through 13 are realleged and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

42. On or about September 2, 2009, in the State and District

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of Minnesota, in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, namely an international terrorism investigation, the defendant,

HAWO MOHAMED HASSAN,

a/k/a Halima Hassan,

a/k/a. Halimo Hassan,

knowingly and willfully made a false material statement and representation to the FBI in that she stated she did not know anyone who had sent money to al Shabaab, the mujahidin, the “Young Men,” or the fighters; all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001 (a) (2) .

COUNT 15

(False Statement)

43. The allegations set forth in paragraphs I through 13 are realleged and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

44. On or about September 2, 2009, in the State and District of Minnesota, in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, namely an international terrorism investigation, the defendant,

HAWO MOHAMED HASSAN,

a/k/a Halima Hassan,

a/k/a Halimo Hassan,

knowingly and willfully made a false material statement and representation to the FBI in that she stated that Amina Ali had

[U.S. v. Amina Farah Ali, et al. Page 11]

never asked her to send money to Somalia or elsewhere through a hawala; all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001 (a) (2) .

COUNT 16

(False Statement)

45. The allegations set forth in paragraphs 1 through 13 are realleged and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

On or about September 14, 2009, in the State and District of Minnesota, in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, namely an international terrorism investigation, the defendant,

HAWO MOHAMED HASSAN,

a/k/a Halima Hassan,

a/k/a Halimo Hassan,

knowingly and willfully made a false material statement and representation to the FBI in that she stated that she and Amina Ali never discussed raising money for the “young men;” all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001 (a) (2) .

A TRUE BILL

Paul A. Murphy, Asst [signature] [redacted] UNITED STATES ATTORNEY FOREPERSON



Previous posts about the explosion and fire in Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis, on New Year’s Day 2014: