Andrew McIntosh | QMI AGENCY
MONTREAL — The Canadian government added a Toronto-area Muslim relief organization to its list of banned terrorist organizations on Tuesday, accusing it of supporting the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
The move by Public Security Minister Stephen Blaney came a day after RCMP national security investigators quietly raided the same group's offices in Mississauga and a Montreal home as part of a major terrorist financing probe, federal authorities said.
The government and RCMP claim the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy-Canada (IRFAN-Canada) transferred approximately $14.6 million worth of resources to various organizations associated with Hamas between 2005 and 2009, in violation of federal law.
The RCMP said officers from its national security enforcement teams seized "an extensive amount of documentary evidence along with stored media, money and other records" during raids on IRFAN Canada's head office and the Montreal home.
No charges have been laid, said RCMP Corporal Laurence Trottier in Ottawa.
The RCMP refused to say whether it made any arrests, how much cash it had actually seized or disclose the Montreal address it searched Monday.
The RCMP did say the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) -- the federal government's Ottawa-based super-secret financial intelligence agency -- played an important part in the probe.
Blaney said that by outlawing IRFAN-Canada, the government is sending the strong message that Canada will not tolerate terrorist activities, including financing of terrorist groups.
Read more at: http://www.sunnewsnetwork...
The charity in question is IRFAN-Canada, according to the Globe. http:// www.theglobeandmail.com/n...
And the Star reports RCMP has raided IRFAN's offices today.
http://www.thestar.com/ne... _group.html
And the Star reports RCMP has raided IRFAN's offices today.
http://www.thestar.com/ne... _group.html
