Terrorists 'used Standard Chartered'

STANDARD Chartered bank was used by the 11 September terrorists to transfer more than £50,000 around the world just ahead of the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

They used credit cards, cheques and cash machines to move money to and from various Arab countries in the week before the attacks.

Standard Chartered, a British bank with extensive operations in Asia and the Middle East, was named as the bank used by the terrorists in a US indictment filed in Virginia this week. The indictment charges French Moroccan Zacarias Moussaoui with participating in the conspiracy that led to the 11 September atrocities. Fayez Ahmed and Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi are also named.

Money moved around Florida, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan as the terrorists prepared their onslaught.

Standard Chartered's New York offices crumbled in the aftermath of attack on the World Trade Centre but none of its employees was harmed. The bank would not comment on the indictment.