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JWME® I. WISG&MDIN

Secretary AAr. Paul O'Neill f--\

Office of Foreign /Assets and Control

U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasury Annex
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20220

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, I am seventy-

three years old, and a citizen of Italy for the past forty-five years. My family and I are
of Eritrean origin, which I am Sure you know was a former Italian oolony. When I came to
Italy, my purpose was io expand my family's commercial and industrial business. I was
Successful in-my endeavors, and although my base company was originally in Milan, and
then later in Lugano, I shipped to companies in the Middle East and Africa

Over the years, and due to the success of the Middle Eastern and African ventures, I
was able to expand and open factories in those countries. Factories, I might add, that
employ thousands of people, I was on active member of the Milan's Chamber of
Commerce and Industry. I was particularly active in the Centre Economico Italia e Africa
(CEIA), which was headed by General Valentino Vecchi.

In 1962, when Kuwait won its independence, I was appointed Honorary Consul in Milan. I
have represented and served my government for twenty-seven years, as well as
cementing economic and commercial ties between Italy and Kuwait.

In 1982,1 was one of the founders of the Gulf Chamber far Investment. This company
deals with industrial and commercial activities in the Gulf Region as well as Italy. In 1995
we expanded to cover Malaysia, Africa and Switzerland At the same time we
incorporated the name MI6A, which Stands for the United Chamber of Malaysia, Italy,
the <3ulf, Switzerland and Africa

In appreciation for all my efforts in the development of trade between the above
mentioned countries, I have been honored with many awards from Heads of States.
Among them was a medal given to me by the former Italian president, Mr. Siulio
Andreotti, and on Honorary Doctorate from the Federal University in Nigeria

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After all my years of work to improve the conditions and lives of many, I cannot
tell you how shocked and sodden I was when I found my name amongst those
accused of supporting terrorism. Due to articles printed in some Italian and
Swiss newspaper, the United States chose to place my name on said list,
(Terrorism Support List). This was done without any investigation into these
allegations. Your judicial system says an individual is innocent until proven guilty.
However, that is obviously not the case here.

The following charges were made against me:

1, That I was financial supporter of a Mosque on Jenner Street in Milan, where

suspected terrorist were seen
2. That I am also a financial supporter of the Al Taqwa Bank.

In order to clear my name, in November of 20011 provided all the necessary

information to the Italian Press Agency (ANSA) in Milan . I would like to
reiterate to you, the information that they were provided with.

Regarding the Jenner Street Mosque: In 1970 several members of the

Diplomatic Core, who were Muslims, as well as some Muslim residents, asked if we
could provide a room at the consulate for their Friday prayers. At this time
Milan did not have a Mosque. Over time the number of Muslims living in Milan
increased, and obviously the room became too small. When the desire to build
their own Mosque grew, the Mosque Committee applied to authorities! for
approval of a land site After years of waiting for government approval, this
committee lost patience and leased a temporary center that could serve their
growling community, which at this time had reached into the thousands. This site
on Jenner Street was an expensive proposition. Their maintenance costs Here
unaffordable and ultimately I was approached by the Mosque Committee and
asked to contribute enough money to help cover the rent only, Giving a donation
to a house of worship does not allow you to pick and choose who attends services,
and to be perfectly honest, I rarely attended. All I did was to help out
financially, as do Christians and Jews around the world, to their churches and
synagogues.

Regarding the Al Taqwa Bank: In November 2001,1 explained to the press

agency ANSA that I am one of thousands of shareholders at the Al Taqwa Bank
I do not have any say in the administration of this bank, and I rarely, if ever
attend meetings.

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Another issue that has been included in this misinformation about me, in my
relationship, or business dealings with the Akida Bank Please allow me to set the
record straight. In 1978 1 established a bank under the name of Iksir in the
Bahamas. The bank was registered through a well known solicitor, Arthur D.
Hanna & Company, who came highly recommended by the Central Bank of the
Bahamas. Hanna <5 Company had registered hundreds of companies and allowed
them to use his address as a reference. The purpose of Iksir was to able to
supply raw materials to industries, while having the protection and cooperation of
the Central Banks to control debts.

Unfortunately Iksir, for various reasons, did not function. In 1983 various
experts in the field of banking suggested that we go public (as per the original
bank license), in hopes that this would generate interest in our bank. In our
attempt to interest the public, we changed the banks name to Akida Bank . but
it still functioned under the original license of Iksir.

After a period of time we realized that going public will create more
complications. We were at a complete standstill. Not able to move backward or
forward I t was at that time that we decided to allow Akida to remain a family
business owned by the Nasreddm Foundation. During its tenure (1983-2001),
Akida performed only two operations. They were the following*.

1- We requested a loan from Akida (in the amount of three million dollars) to buy
a textile company in Morocco in 1985. This company, we called Nascotex, was
short lived, as union problems forced its closure.

2- In 1988 Nasreddin Group International (NGI) bought out a liquidated holding

company that owned different factories in Turkey. NSI owned seventy-five
percent of this company, while IFC (International Fund Corporation), which is
part of the International Bank owned twenty-five percent.

At that time the exchange rate was nine-hundred Turkish Ure to one American
dollar. Due to the rapid devaluation of the lire, NSI requested a loan of six-
million dollars from Akida Bank, to improve their position. Eventually, due to the
continuation of the Lire's devaluation, NGI was unable to fulfill its obligation and
repay the loan.

These were the only two activities that Akida Bank has performed.

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 All redactions on this page made pursuant
to exemptions (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C)

In 1995, under the advisement of banking experts, and due to high public
licensing fees, we changed the license, and made it a private bank. A new Board
of Directors was formed, which included Mr. flHHH ^ tl#ie H H H
m ^ T h e unfortunate thing is that this board was only on paper, it never met
and was never activated, until the revocation of Akida.

Since the bank was not serving the purpose it was established for, we decided
to revoke its license in 2001. In order to cut costs we established a new company
AIC (Akida Investment Company), to handle all the banks commitments. I need
to reiterate an important point here, we revoked the banks license NOT the
Bahamian Government.

I t is most important that all the issues regarding the Akida Bank be clarified.

The following is a list of the companies who had a connection to the Akida Bank.
Some of these I have already mentioned above.

1.- Akida Bank Private Limited, Akida Investment Co. Ltd, Nasreddin Group
International Holding Limited (NGI) Masco, Nasreddin Holding, Nascotex S.A
and Nasreddin Foundation.

The following is a list of companies that were purported to have a connection to

the Akida Bank, In reality, they have absolutely no connection whatsoever. They
are:

2- (A/OCSA) Malaysian, Swiss, Sulf and Africa Chamber, Sulf Center S.RL., Nasco
Service S.RL, Nasco Business Center SAS Di Nasreddin Ahmed Idris EC,
Nasreddin Company Nasco SAS Di Ahmed Idris Nasreddin EC, Nasreddin
International Group Holding.

Almost all of the above mentioned companies were closed a long time ago.
However, everyone of these business ventures, whether presently operational or
closed, have always been run in legitimate manner. They have all met their
commitments and obligations towards the authorities.

In order to resolve this issue, I am willing to do whatever the United State

government sees fit, I will remove myself from affiliation with Al Taqwa Bank
and covering the rent of the Mosque in Milan, if that is what is necessary. You
need to understand that I do not have, nor have I ever had, any connections to
accused terrorist supporters. I strongly condemn all criminal actions against the
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United States, as well as any other count
 All redactions on this page made pursuant
to exemptions (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C)

I believe in severe punishment for any individuals involved in these activities. At

the same, I also condemn the publication of erroneous information which leads to
the destruction of business and lives. Businesses that were built on the same
credo that Americans live by. The desire to provide economic growth and
personal pride for all people-
In closing, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this letter, I am
aware that you are incredibly busy and that this letter is of some length. I
implore you to please reevaluate this situation, for you.will see that I am in no
way a threat to anyone I am just a businessman trying to continue a family
tradition, as well as helping to bring economic stability to others.

I await to receive a response on your behalf, and I stress again that I will
cooperate with the authorities in any way possible to help clear my name.

Email

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