Moscow | National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has made a new controversial claim yesterday, saying that he possessed some classified information proving that Osama Bin Laden is still alive.

Snowden, who lives as a fugitive in Russia after leaking documents about the NSA’s surveillance programs has made some previously unreported allegations about the famous terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, during an interview with the Moscow Tribune.

According to him, not only is Bin Laden still alive, but he is living a lavish lifestyle in the Bahamas, thanks to regular payments from the CIA.

“I have documents showing that Bin Laden is still on the CIA’s payroll,” claims Edward Snowden. “He is still receiving more than $100,000 a month, which are being transferred through some front businesses and organizations, directly to his Nassau bank account. I am not certain where he is now, but in 2016, he was living quietly in his villa with five of his wives and many children.”

Mr. Snowden says the CIA orchestrated the fake death of the former leader of Al Qaeda, while he was actually transported with his family to an undisclosed location in the Bahamas.

“Osama Bin Laden was one of the CIA’s most efficient operatives for a long time,” claims the famous whistleblower. “What kind of message would it send their other operatives if they were to let the SEALs kill him? They organized his fake death with the collaboration of the Pakistani Secret services, and he simply abandoned his cover. Since everyone believes he is dead, nobody’s looking for him, so it was pretty easy to disappear. Without the beard and the military jacket, nobody recognizes him.”

Mr. Snowden says that the documents proving that Bin Laden is still alive will be integrally reproduced in his new book, expected to be released in September.

Edward Snowden was hired by an NSA contractor in 2013 after previous employment with Dell and the CIA. In the month of June of the same year, he revealed thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists.

The US government filed espionage charges against him shortly after his revelations were made public. He has been living under asylum in Moscow, after fleeing the US for Hong Kong in the wake of the leaks.

On July 28, 2015, the White House has rejected a “We the People” petition of nearly 168,000 signatories, to pardon him.