Mehdat Abdul Salam Shabana
Encyclopedia
Mehdat Abdul Salam Shabana (born in Afghanistan
) was a member of the board of directors, during the mid 1990s, of the now defunct Konsojaya Trading Company
, a terrorist front organization based in Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia. He owned half of the company's 6,000 shares. Konsojaya was a shell company
cofounded by Riduan Isamuddin
, better known as "Hambali", in June 1994. As of January 2002, Shabana's whereabouts were still unknown.
Hambali, now in U.S. custody since 2003, was the leader of the southeast Asia
terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah
, which later became associated with al-Qaeda
, along with Abu Sayyaf
in the Philippines
. Hambali was also a close friend of the later al-Qaeda 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
, also now in U.S. custody since 2003. Mohammed in turn had become one of the original 22 FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
, indicted for his role in the planning of the 1995 terrorist plot named Operation Bojinka, to bomb eleven U.S. airliners. It was accidentally discovered and foiled in Manila, Philippines.
The Bojinka bombs were in the process of being constructed by Mohammed's nephew, Ramzi Yousef
, who was, by then, already wanted by the United States Department of Justice
as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
for his own earlier role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
.
Another Afghan
named Wali Khan Amin Shah
was also one of the board of directors of the Konsojaya company. He owned the other half (3,000) of the company's 6,000 shares. Another member was 30-year old Hemeid H. Algamdi, of Jeddah
, Saudi Arabia
. The Yemen
i man Amein Mohamed was the managing director of Konsojaya.
Konsojaya stated in its incorporation papers that it was an "import/export" company that shipped palm oil
to Afghanistan
from Malaysia. The organization also dealt with the export of Sudan
ese honey
.
Konsojaya actually funneled money and material assistance to several regional militant Islamic plots. The organization also funneled money to an account owned by Omar Abu Omar, an employee of the International Relations and Information Centre, an organization run by Mohammed Jamal Khalifa
, who is married to one of Osama bin Laden
's sisters. The money was then be siphoned into an account under the name of "Adam Salih", an alias of Ramzi Yousef, who was at the time planning the Bojinka attack.
According to corporate records in Kuala Lumpur
, Konsojaya no longer exists.
Rodolfo Mendoza, the former head of Philippine counter-terrorism who led the Bojinka investigation, said in a telephone interview in January 2002 that "Konsojaya was the nerve center not only for business but also for operational supervision [of the Bojinka plot]," and "was formed for the purpose of terrorist activity." "The most important was Wali Khan and the board of directors in Malaysia," he claimed, although "Ramzi Yousef was considered the most important," Mendoza said. "But it is the other way around."
Shabana's co-owner of Konsojaya, Wali Khan Amin Shah, in U.S. custody, went on trial in 1996, and is serving a life sentence.
As of January 2002, the other Konsojaya directors, including Shabana, were still at large.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
) was a member of the board of directors, during the mid 1990s, of the now defunct Konsojaya Trading Company
Konsojaya Trading Company
The Konsojaya Trading Company was a shell company cofounded by Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as "Hambali", and his Malaysian Chinese wife, Noralwizah Lee Abdullah on June 1994. The company was based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia....
, a terrorist front organization based in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia. He owned half of the company's 6,000 shares. Konsojaya was a shell company
Shell (corporation)
A shell corporation is a company which serves as a vehicle for business transactions without itself having any significant assets or operations. Shell corporations are not in themselves illegal and have legitimate business purposes. However, they are a main component of the underground economy,...
cofounded by Riduan Isamuddin
Riduan Isamuddin
Riduan Isamuddin also transliterated as Riduan Isamudin, Riduan Isomuddin, and Riduan Isomudin, better known by the nom de guerre Hambali, born as Encep Nurjaman, born April 4, 1964 is the former military leader of the Indonesian terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah , which is linked with Al...
, better known as "Hambali", in June 1994. As of January 2002, Shabana's whereabouts were still unknown.
Hambali, now in U.S. custody since 2003, was the leader of the southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
, which later became associated with al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, along with Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several military Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern Philippines, in Bangsamoro where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Hambali was also a close friend of the later al-Qaeda 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a Kuwait-born militant in U.S. custody in Guantánamo Bay for alleged acts of terrorism, including mass murder of civilians....
, also now in U.S. custody since 2003. Mohammed in turn had become one of the original 22 FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Terrorists is a list of fugitives who have been indicted by sitting Federal grand juries in the United States district courts, for alleged crimes of terrorism. The initial list was formed in late 2001 in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks...
, indicted for his role in the planning of the 1995 terrorist plot named Operation Bojinka, to bomb eleven U.S. airliners. It was accidentally discovered and foiled in Manila, Philippines.
The Bojinka bombs were in the process of being constructed by Mohammed's nephew, Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
, who was, by then, already wanted by the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1990s
The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 1990s is a list, maintained for a fifth decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.-FBI 10 Most Wanted Fugitives to begin the 1990s:...
for his own earlier role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 lb urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower , bringing...
.
Another Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
named Wali Khan Amin Shah
Wali Khan Amin Shah
Wali Khan Amin Shah was a man who had a role in the foiled Bojinka plot. He was convicted of terrorism, and has been imprisoned on these charges since 1995....
was also one of the board of directors of the Konsojaya company. He owned the other half (3,000) of the company's 6,000 shares. Another member was 30-year old Hemeid H. Algamdi, of Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. The Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
i man Amein Mohamed was the managing director of Konsojaya.
Konsojaya stated in its incorporation papers that it was an "import/export" company that shipped palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
from Malaysia. The organization also dealt with the export of Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
ese honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
.
Konsojaya actually funneled money and material assistance to several regional militant Islamic plots. The organization also funneled money to an account owned by Omar Abu Omar, an employee of the International Relations and Information Centre, an organization run by Mohammed Jamal Khalifa
Mohammed Jamal Khalifa
Mohammed Jamal Khalifa was a Saudi Arabian businessman from Jeddah who married one of Osama bin Laden's sisters.-Overview:The first glimpse U.S...
, who is married to one of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
's sisters. The money was then be siphoned into an account under the name of "Adam Salih", an alias of Ramzi Yousef, who was at the time planning the Bojinka attack.
According to corporate records in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Konsojaya no longer exists.
Rodolfo Mendoza, the former head of Philippine counter-terrorism who led the Bojinka investigation, said in a telephone interview in January 2002 that "Konsojaya was the nerve center not only for business but also for operational supervision [of the Bojinka plot]," and "was formed for the purpose of terrorist activity." "The most important was Wali Khan and the board of directors in Malaysia," he claimed, although "Ramzi Yousef was considered the most important," Mendoza said. "But it is the other way around."
Shabana's co-owner of Konsojaya, Wali Khan Amin Shah, in U.S. custody, went on trial in 1996, and is serving a life sentence.
As of January 2002, the other Konsojaya directors, including Shabana, were still at large.