Bin Laden's Half Brother in French Court

[tocqueville]

By PIERRE-ANTOINE SOUCHARD, Associated Press Writer
Tue Nov 15,12:20 AM ET

PARIS - A half brother of Osama bin Laden testified as a witness Monday in a long-running investigation into suspected money laundering, his lawyer said.

Swiss citizen Yeslam Binladin, who spells his name differently from the terror leader, was questioned about a $300 million transfer to Pakistan allegedly made by one of his companies in 2000, a judicial official said, speaking anonymously because he is not authorized to release information about the case.

"Mr. Binladin knows nothing about this transaction," one of his lawyers, Henri Leclerc, said.

Leclerc said the account in question did not belong to Binladin and that his client had no connection to the company involved

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051115/ap_on_re_eu/france_bin_laden_s_brother