Curious Coincidences of 2001: Following the 9/11 Money Trail

[reprehensor]

Curious Coincidences of 2001: Following the 9/11 Money Trail

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...the final report of the 9/11 commission stated that the origins of the money used to fund the attacks were “ultimately … of little practical significance.” Certainly, the alleged 9/11 hijackers did not need a great deal of money to carry out their mission. But tracking financial activity could still provide evidence useful to help understand and prosecute the crimes.

Focusing on transactions directly involving 19 alleged hijackers misses the forest for the trees. The surge in currency in July and August 2001 may have arisen in accounts for people related to a broader conspiracy. Investigating that broader money flow could yield important findings. For example, when the currency was ordered for shipment, was it ordered in advance of 9/11 by people with knowledge attacks were imminent? Yet the final report of the 9/11 Commission makes no mention of the extraordinary growth in currency in circulation in July and August 2001, nor any related investigative efforts.

Why might this issue be particularly important, as touched on above, in light of the fact that Atta was reported to have received wire transfers in a bank account in Florida? A flowering scandal involving one of the owners of a fleet of casino boats in Florida may provide an important investigatory avenue. Atta was reportedly aboard one of those boats soon before 9/11. Was he just gambling? Were casino boats, financial institutions, aviation companies, or other parties in Florida involved in extraordinary currency shipments just prior to, or soon after, 9/11? Atta’s alleged appearance on a casino boat -- or any investigation of that appearance and its implications -- goes unmentioned in the 9/11 commission’s final report.

This leads to another topic unmentioned in the 9/11 Commission’s final report. Atta was reported to have visited not only casino boats, but also Las Vegas, in the weeks before 9/11. Casinos, like casino boats, have a lot of currency. Their operation provides the means for distributing currency. The final report of the 9/11 Commission did describe the timing of Atta’s visits in Las Vegas, but the word “casino” is not to be found.

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