Amen Ahmed Ali: former military officer, weapons smuggler, spy?
This is an interesting article at Bakersfield with some new details on one of the three Yemeni-Americans indicted for conspiring to ship stolen US military equipment to Yemen, but it fails to mention that the investigation started two years ago, after Ali shipped gas masks, night vision goggles, chemical suits and body armour to Yemen, contravening US law. And then he attempted to purchase US military secrets and more military equipment from an undercover agent. It turns out yes, they think he may have been a spy for the Yemeni regime, -ie, purchasing on their behalf.
A federal judge ordered Amen Ahmed Ali to remain in custody Friday after hearing of his alleged ties to a convicted terrorist financier who funneled money and weapons to al-Qaida and Hamas.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Faller said in court that Ali’s address book contained the name of Sheikh Mohammed Ali Hassan Al-Moayad, a Yemeni cleric. Al-Moayad was convicted in 2005 of providing material support to terrorist organizations and is serving a 75-year sentence in a Colorado prison.
Faller also told the court Ali may face an additional charge of espionage after evidence found in a search of his home last week indicated he may have been working as an undercover agent for the Yemen government.
Faller said it was clear that despite being a naturalized U.S. citizen, Ali, 56, has “a very close tie and allegiance to Yemen,” his native country.
Ali was arrested Sept. 7 on suspicion of conspiring to acquire and sell U.S. defense secrets and stolen military equipment to someone in Yemen. Two other men are also charged in the case.
Defense attorney David Torres said he did not have access to the information Faller presented in court prior to the hearing.
Friends and relatives of Ali who live around Bakersfield were willing to put up five pieces of property worth a total of $550,000 to secure Ali’s release, Torres said.
However, Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill said the decision to keep Ali in custody was based on Ali’s numerous links to Yemen and his alleged connection to Al-Moayad.
New details emerge
Al-Moayad’s name was found in Ali’s address book in 2004 when Ali was questioned by officials upon arriving at Los Angeles International Airport, Faller said.
In addition, Ali’s name and two phone numbers for him starting with the area code 661 were found in an address book owned by Al-Moayad, following his arrest in Germany in 2003.
Faller declined to comment on whether there was any contact between the two.
The court also heard allegations by the prosecutor that Ali may have been acting as a spy for Yemen.
Faller said official Yemen government forms that appeared to be visa and travel authorizations were found in a search of Ali’s home the day he was arrested.
The documents, Faller said, allow someone to enter Yemen without doing anything more than completing the forms.
In audio- and videotaped surveillance during the government’s two-year investigation, Ali allegedly told an undercover U.S. agent that he was a former officer in the Yemen military, Faller said. Ali also said he had ways of getting stolen U.S. military equipment into Yemen without American intelligence agents there discovering it.
Regarding Ali’s ties to Yemen, Faller said the investigation also shows:
• Ali’s Yemen ID card has a different name and birth date than his U.S. documents. On the Yemen card, his name is listed as Amen Ali Al-Hajj Al-Rouhani. His U.S. documents say he was born in 1950; his Yemeni documents say 1955.
• Ali tried to paint himself as a humble businessman, but that he had access to thousands of dollars. He allegedly had five bank accounts that would contain as much as $25,000 each at times, and then would be emptied. It is unknown where the money went.
• Ali was paid $30,000 last year by a Bay Area travel agency called Palm Air that specializes in discount flights to the Middle East. He could order plane tickets in anyone’s name as part of his job, Faller said.
In issuing his ruling, O’Neill also noted that a pretrial services report indicated Ali had taken frequent trips to Yemen, has six siblings living there and owns land in the country.
