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Khalid Bin Mahfouz
Q: Who was Khalid Bin Mahfouz?
A: Born in 1949, Khalid Bin Mahfouz was the second son of Salem Bin Mahfouz
(d. 1994), the founder of the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia.
He was born in and was a citizen and resident of Saudi Arabia, where he died in August 2009. His widow,
Na'elah Kaaki, is a descendant of one of the original partners of Salem
Bin Mahfouz in NCB. They had three children: 2 sons, Abdulrahman and
Sultan, and a daughter, Eman.
Q: Was Khalid Bin Mahfouz related by marriage to Osama Bin Laden?
A: Contrary to the testimony of James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence Agency of the United States,
to a congressional sub-committee, Khalid Bin Mahfouz was not a brother-in-law of Osama Bin Laden.
Woolsey himself has acknowledged that his testimony was misconstrued.
Cross-examined on 15 December 2003 in the libel trial between Mohamed Abdul Latif Jameel et
al. v. Wall Street Journal Europe, Woolsey stated that Khalid Bin Mahfouz had been
'misindentified' in his evidence to the congressional sub-committee and that the individual he was
referring to 'was not Mr (Khalid Bin) Mahfouz'.
(Click here to read)
In a Los Angeles Times article of 26 February 2003 by Ken Silverstein,
entitled "Top Investigator in 9/11 Victims' Lawsuit Faces Libel Action",
Woolsey characterized remarks he had made to a Senate Judiciary Committee
hearing of 3 September 1998 about 'Mr.Hafous' as confused. He told the
Los Angeles Times 'I don't know what
to say other than there was some confusion, but I never meant to refer
to Bin Mahfouz's sister'. (Click here to read)
This error has also been acknowledged by leading publications, such as:
Penguin Books:
11.03.2004: Re 'American Dynasty' by Kevin Phillips: " We note that Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz is not Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law and we will ensure that the necessary change to the text is made in the next reprint of the book. We regret the mistake".
The Wall Street Journal:
29.05.2002: "A May 1 (2002) Leisure & Arts story, "The Gallery:
An Artist With a Taste for Scandal. . ." by Dean Yuliano, relied
on Senate testimony in stating that a sister of Khalid bin Mahfouz, a
Saudi banker and former BCCI director, is married to Osama
bin Laden. None of Khalid bin Mahfouz's sisters is, or ever has been,
married to Osama bin Laden."
The Washington Post:
03.03.2002: "A Feb 17 article about the use of gold in al Qaeda and
Taliban financing reported incorrectly that a Saudi banker, Khalid Bin
Mahfouz, is a brother-in-law of Osama bin Ladin."
The Sunday Independent (Eire):
08.05.2003:
"In our edition of May 18, 2003, we published an article entitled 'Moore
firing both barrels at Bush'.
The article referred to Khalid Bin Mahfouz and stated that he is a brother-in-law
of Osama Bin Laden. We wish to acknowledge that this was an error of fact
and that Khalid Bin Mahfouz is not Osama Bin Laden's brother-in-law. Furthermore,
Bin Mahfouz has absolutely no such familial relationship to Osama Bin
Laden."
Sunday Express (UK):
06.07.2003:
"Neither (Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Khalid Bin Mahfouz or Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalid Bin Mahfouz) is related in any way to Osama Bin Laden".
On 22 October 2003, Mr Brisard made a number of misstatements concerning Khalid bin Mahfouz to the US Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee at their hearing "Counterterrorism Initiatives in the Terror Finance Program". Jones Day on behalf of Khalid bin Mahfouz wrote a letter of correction to the Committee on 30 October 2003. (Click here to read)
Q: It has been alleged that Khalid Bin Mahfouz
had, at various times, been "under arrest" or "under house
arrest" in Saudi Arabia. Is this true?
A: Khalid Bin Mahfouz was not and never had been "under arrest"
or "under house arrest". Furthermore he had never been charged
with any offence by the Saudi authorities.
Q: Why did Khalid Bin Mahfouz step down as
Chief Executive of NCB in 1999?
A: Khalid Bin Mahfouz stepped down for reasons of ill health.
Q: At the time Khalid Bin Mahfouz stepped down in 1999, it has been alleged that the Saudi Government conducted a major audit at NCB that found a connection between the bank and charities linked to terrorism. Is this true?
A: NCB is on record (Chicago Tribune, 26th October 2001) as "vehemently"
denying that any such audit took place.
Furthermore, in connection with the 9/11 litigation now pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, NCB has submitted a letter from The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) dated April 22, 2007 which states: "You have asked us whether we are aware of any audit or examination of NCB in the general time frame of 1998 or later which examined alleged involvement in financing terrorist activities; or whether any adverse regulatory action was taken against NCB in the same general time frame because of alleged involvement in financing terrorist activities. SAMA is unaware of any such audit or examination, and has not required any such audit or examination, and has taken no such adverse regulatory action."
(Click here to read letter)
Q: Was Khalid Bin Mahfouz ever named as a sponsor of terrorism in a UN Report?
A: To the best of our knowledge, the UN has never published any report citing Khalid bin Mahfouz in any context whatsoever. (See Other Issues: JCB Report)
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