KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — A Sydney-based company run by the family of an Australian suspected terrorist is being investigated by Australian authorities for hiding international money transfers worth A$9 million (RM24 million), including one worth RM110,000 to a Malaysian, Australian media reported today.
Australian broadcaster, ABC News reported the company, Bisotel Rieh, is run by the sister and brother-in-law of a Khaled Sharrouf, the latter who gained infamy for posting photos of his seven-year-old son holding up the severed head of a Syrian soldier earlier this year.
Khaled was one of dozens of Australians fighting with a militant jihadist movement known as the Islamic State or IS in Syria, according to a report by The Australian daily.
The daily added that he fled Australia late last year, travelled to Syria and transited through Malaysia.
However, the report was not clear if Khaled was the recipient of the money transfer from his sister’s company in Australia.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) acting chief executive John Schmidt said the government is looking closely at companies which could be used to finance terrorism.
“We are satisfied that the continued registration of Bisotel Rieh, an independent remittance provider, may involve a significant financing of terrorism risk.
“Austrac take seriously the risks faced by the Australian community in relation to terrorism,” Schmidt was quoted as saying by several Australian media.
The Australian national financial intelligence unit also claimed that the family-run firm arranged for bulk cash to be smuggled over the Turkish border into Lebanon, which is is subject to Australian sanctions.
Bisotel Rieh has until tomorrow to refute the allegations, The Australian reported.
