Bin Laden Brother Denies Tax Haven Involvement

Tax-News.com, Brussels

12 February 2002

The half-brother of Saudi dissident Usamah Bin-Ladin has denied allegations that his company operates in tax havens. In an interview with Swissinfo and the Sunday edition of the Swiss newspaper "Le Matin", Yeslam Bin-Ladin said it was a mistake to take measures to stop the publication of a book, written by Jean-Charles Brisard and Guillaume Dasquie.

"We were wrong (to prevent the publication of the book). For some people my silence proved that the content of the book was true," he said.

In January this year, a Geneva court ruled that the book, "The Forbidden Truth", was to be banned until further notice.

Bin-Ladin said the book, which gives an insight into the Bin-Ladin family, has endangered his personal security. "I can no longer move around without security guards," he said.

Furthermore Yeslam Bin-Ladin denied the authors' accusations that he has the same business connections as his half-brother. "This is wrong and misleading," he said.

The entrepreneur, who lives in Switzerland, also emphasized that his Geneva-based company SICO did not have any subsidiaries and denied allegations of running branches of his company in tax havens.

Bin-Ladin also said he would seek justice against those who have made allegations against him. "I will condemn all those, who have defamed me. My complaint in Geneva shows that 'The Forbidden Truth' contains wrong facts," he said.

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