A Canadian man suspected of helping to finance Islamist terrorist activities has been arrested by Spanish authorities as part of a continuing U.S. FBI investigation, authorities said Monday.Brian David Anderson, 61, was arrested by Spanish police on March 10, Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Catherine Gagnaire said.
The department declined to provide additional information about Anderson because of privacy rules, other than to say that the Canadian Embassy in Madrid has been alerted to his arrest and that a consular official is meeting with him and is in contact with his family, Gagnaire said.
On Monday, the Associated Press reported that Anderson is wanted by U.S. authorities for fraud and is believed to have helped finance a training camp in Afghanistan. He was arrested in a Madrid hotel thanks to joint collaboration with the FBI, according to Spain's Interior Ministry.
It said Anderson is thought to be linked to a New York businessman, Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, 53, who was charged last month with terrorism financing, material support of terrorism and money laundering. Alishtari has pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said in an e-mail that the FBI "has been working with our international law enforcement and intelligence community partners to locate and arrest Anderson," but he declined to provide more information about the case.
Alishtari donated $20,000 US in 2003 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm for Republican senators, and more than $15,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm for Republican House members.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee said last month it was donating the money to a foundation that provides housing for families of wounded soldiers on the grounds of military and Veterans' Administration hospitals.
Jessica Boulanger, a spokeswoman for the NRCC, said the committee is awaiting the outcome of Alishtari's case, and if he is found guilty, the money it received will be donated to charity.
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