FBI Checking Terrorists’ Conflict Diamond Involvement in Liberia

A team of FBI financial specialists has visited war-torn Liberia late last year to look into accusations of terrorist involvement in the West African diamond trade.

Agents from the FBI's counter-terrorism division visited Liberia to examine a possible terrorist involvement in the shadowy trade in conflict diamonds.

The investigation is continuing and interim conclusions have not been released to the public.

A State Department official recently told a congressional panel there was no solid evidence so far one way or the other about the accusations.

Counter-terrorism officials believe it will be difficult to confirm the accusations that trading is taking place in conflict diamonds to finance terrorism since any trail will be difficult to follow.

Accusations that Osama Bin-Laden’s al Qaeda network along with other terrorist groups were trading in diamonds to help finance their activities and the hunt for suspicious money transactions began following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.