Fai Pleads Guilty in US Kashmir Scheme

[Gautam]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A longtime
activist for the disputed Kashmir
territory who funneled hundreds of
thousands of dollars in contributions to
members of Congress admitted
Wednesday that he secretly received
millions of dollars from Pakistan’s spy
service in violation of federal law.
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, 62, of Fairfax,
executive director of the Washington-
based Kashmiri American Council,
pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to
one count of conspiracy and one of
impeding the Internal Revenue
Service.


Fai admitted using a network of straw
donors to receive more than $3.5
million from Pakistan’s intelligence
agency, known as the ISI, starting in
the mid-1990s. Fai used that money
to fund his council’s lobbying efforts
with Congress, where he annually
doled out contributions totaling $
80,000 to $100,000 a year to various
members. He also organized an annual
Kashmiri Peace Conference that
attracted high-profile speakers and
attendees.
Fai admitted that he covered up his
links to ISI and never disclosed his
sources of funding.
When Fai was arrested in July, he was
charged with conspiring to act as an
unregistered foreign agent in violation
of the Foreign Agents Registration Act
(FARA). But the charges filed
Wednesday as part of a plea
agreement allege only a generic count
of conspiracy and do not mention a
violation of FARA.
Fai’s lawyer, Nina Ginsberg, said the
distinction is significant. While Fai
admits that he secretly accepted
millions of dollars from Pakistan, he
maintains that his lobbying efforts
were his own, and that his actions and
efforts were not dictated by the ISI.
In a statement he issued after his
guilty plea, Fai wrote, “Kashmiri
American Council and I have always
tried to represent the sentiments of
the people of Kashmir, irrespective of
the religious background and cultural
affiliations.”
The council’s board of directors issued
a statement welcoming the
government’s decision not to pursue
charges that Fai was a foreign agent,
and said the council at times issued
opinion pieces that critiqued Pakistan
as well as India.
Still, court documents indicate that
Fai’s ties with the ISI were extensive.
And U.S. Attorney for the Eastern
District of Virginia Neil MacBride,
whose office prosecuted the case,
called Fai “a paid operative” of ISI.
“For the last 20 years, Mr. Fai secretly
took millions of dollars from Pakistani
intelligence and lied about it to the
U.S. government,” MacBride said. “As
a paid operative of ISI, he did the
bidding of his handlers in Pakistan
while he met with U.S. elected
officials, funded high-profile
conferences, and promoted the
Kashmiri cause to decision-makers in
Washington.”
As part of the plea agreement, Fai
admitted that he routinely submitted
his strategy plans and budgets to ISI,
specifically to a contact named Javeed
Aziz Khan, also known as “Brigadier
Abdullah.” Khan at times chastised Fai
for making decisions without ISI
approval.
Fai also admitted that in December
2008, he submitted a strategy plan to
the ISI outlining his plan to secure
Congressional support for pressuring
the White House to support Kashmiri
independence. As he planned the
agenda for his 2009 Peace
Conference, Khan sent Fai a list of 18
suggested topics. Of the 10 sessions
eventually included on the conference
agenda, six were taken directly from
Khan’s suggestions.
Also, a cooperating witness told the
FBI that only 20 percent of Fai’s work
was his own, with the other 80
percent being directed by his Pakistani
handlers.
Kashmir has been a flashpoint in
relations between India and Pakistan,
and ISI has been accused of supporting
militant groups that have allegedly
planned terrorist attacks in India.
U.S.-Pakistan relations have also at
times been complicated by accusations
that ISI has thwarted efforts to
combat insurgents and terrorists.
Following Fai’s rest in July, several
congressmen who received
contributions from Fai said they would
take the money and donate it to
charity.
Fai, a U.S. citizen of Kashmiri origin,
said little during Wednesday’s hearing.
Among those who were there to
support him were Shaker Elsayed,
imam of the dar al-Hijrah mosque in
Falls Church. The mosque has drawn
scrutiny because a former imam,
Anwar al-Awlaki, later went on to
become one of al-Qaida’s most
prominent figures.
Fai’s concealment of ISI funding
resulted in a tax loss to the U.S.
government of between $200,000 and
$400,000, according to the plea
agreement.
Fai is free on bond pending a
sentencing hearing scheduled for
March 9. He faces up to eight years in
prison.

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Va. man who took millions from Pakistan to lobby in US on Kashmir pleads guilty to conspiracy - The Washington Post

 

[Gautam]

REVEALED: How 'ISI spy' Fai pushed anti-India agenda in US - Rediff.com News

 

[Gautam]

BBC News - US 'agent' Ghulam Nabi Fai 'took Pakistan spy money'

 

[Android]

isi exposed again

 

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Fai pleads guilty for being ISI agent in US​

Washington: In a major embarrassment to the ISI, US-based Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, late on Wednesday pleaded guilty to federal charges of spying for the Pakistani spy agency and illegally lobbying the Congress to influence the American policy on Kashmir.

Fai, 62, also acknowledged secretly receiving money from the ISI through clandestine routes and causing revenue losses to the US government to the tune of $200,000 to 400,000.

Pleading before the US Eastern District Court of Virginia, Fai pleaded guilty and agreed to the charges of federal prosecutors that he received at least $3.5 million from ISI between 1990 to 2011.

His sentencing is scheduled for 9 March. Fai agreed before the court that he was in direct contact with the ISI officials including the head of its security directorate.

The guilty plea was announced by Neil MacBride, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

He conceded receiving talking points from ISI regarding what to say and write. He agreed that he received directions from ISI with regard to which specific individuals to invite for KAC conferences.

Fai has consented to forfeit all four bank accounts in his name or in the name of KAC totalling about $140,000. He also agreed before the court that he had send to the ISI annual budget of the KAC for approval.

“For the last 20 years, Mr. Fai secretly took millions of dollars from Pakistani intelligence and lied about it to the US government,” said US Attorney MacBride.

“As a paid operative of ISI, he did the bidding of his handlers in Pakistan while he met with US elected officials, funded high-profile conferences, and promoted the Kashmiri cause to decision-makers in Washington.”

“Syed Fai today admitted his role in a decades-long scheme to conceal the fact that the government of Pakistan was secretly funding his efforts to influence US policy on Kashmir,” said assistant attorney general Monaco.

Fai continues to be under house arrest till the time of his sentencing. Fai was arrested on spying charges on 19 July and then put under house arrest.

A resident of Fairfax Virginia, an affluent suburb of Washington DC, Fai is the head KAC and claimed to lobby on behalf of the people of Kashmir.

The FBI had arrested Fai for allegedly collaborating with ISI by “clandestinely” funnelling hundreds and thousands of dollars to change the view of American lawmakers on Kashmir.

“The Tax Division is committed to prosecuting any individual who illegally uses the tax-exempt status of charitable entities to promote or conceal federal crimes,” principal deputy assistant attorney general DiCiccio said in a statement.

“Mr. Fai purposefully hid financial transactions from the US government, with intentions that his scheme to fund lobbying efforts by a foreign government would go unnoticed,” said FBI assistant director in Charge McJunkin.

“The FBI will detect and defeat those who attempt to surreptitiously exert foreign influence on our government by using agents who conceal their foreign affiliation.”

“The illegal activity in this case, including tax charges and abuse of charitable organisations, harms all Americans, as we all have to pay our fair share for the government services and protections that we enjoy,” said Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Special Agent in Charge Hammett.

Today, Fai admitted that, from 1990 until about 18 July, 2011, he conspired with others to obtain money from officials employed by the government of Pakistan, including the ISI, for the operation of the KAC in the United States, and that he did so outside the knowledge of the US government and without attracting the attention of law enforcement and regulatory authorities.

To prevent the Justice Department, FBI, Department of Treasury and the IRS from learning the source of the money he received from officials employed by the government of Pakistan and the ISI, Fai made a series of false statements and representations, according to court documents.

For example, Fai told FBI agents in March 2007 that he had never met anyone who identified himself as being affiliated with the ISI and, in May 2009, he falsely denied to the IRS on a tax return for the KAC that the KAC had received any money from foreign sources in 2008, the statement said.

In addition, according to court documents, Fai sent a letter in April 2010 to the Justice Department falsely asserting that the KAC was not funded by the government of Pakistan. Later that year, Fai falsely denied to the IRS that the KAC had received any money from foreign sources in 2009.

In July 2011, Fai falsely denied to FBI agents that he or the KAC received money from the ISI or government of Pakistan.

In fact, Fai repeatedly submitted annual KAC strategy reports and budgetary requirements to Pakistani government officials for approval.

For instance, in 2009, Fai sent the ISI a document entitled “Plan of Action of KAC / Kashmir Centre, Washington, DC, for the Fiscal Year 2010,” which itemised KAC’s 2010 budget request of $658,000 and listed Fai’s plans to secure US congressional support for US action in support of Kashmiri self-determination.

Fai also admitted that, from 1990 until about 18 July, 2011, he corruptly endeavoured to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws by arranging for the transfer of at least $3.5 million to the KAC from employees of the government of Pakistan and the ISI.

According to court documents, Fai accepted the transfer of such money to the KAC from the ISI and the government of Pakistan through his co-defendant Zaheer Ahmad and middlemen (straw donors), who received reimbursement from Ahmad for their purported “donations” to the KAC.

Fai provided letters from the KAC to the straw donors documenting that their purported “donations” to the KAC were tax deductible and encouraged these donors to deduct the transfers as “charitable” deductions on their personal tax returns.

Fai concealed from the IRS that the straw donors’ purported KAC “donations” were reimbursed by Ahmad, using funds received from officials employed by the ISI and the government of Pakistan.

An affidavit filed in July had alleged that although the KAC held itself out to be a Kashmiri organisation run by Kashmiris and financed by Americans, it was one of three “Kashmir Centers” that are actually run by elements of the Pakistani government, including ISI. The two other Kashmir Centers are in London and Brussels.

Fai pleads guilty for being ISI agent in US - International News - livemint.com

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Fai pleads guilty to working for ISI​

WASHINGTON: A US-based Kashmiri leader Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai pleaded guilty on Wednesday to federal charges of lobbying for Kashmir without registration and spying for the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence).

Mr Fai also acknowledged receiving money from the Pakistani spy agency through clandestine routes and causing revenue losses.

Pleading before the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, Mr Fai conceded that he received at least $3.5 million from the ISI between 1990 and 2011. This resulted in a revenue loss of between $200,000 and $400,000 to the US government.

Mr Fai acknowledged that he was in direct contact with ISI officials, including the head of its security directorate. He conceded receiving talking points and directions from the ISI about the conferences held by the Kashmiri-American Council (KAC), an organisation he headed before his arrest earlier this year.

Mr Fai, 62, has consented to forfeit all four bank accounts in his name or in the name of KAC, totalling about $140,000. He informed the court that the annual budget of the KAC was approved by the lSI.

The court has set March 9 for sentencing Mr Fai but allowed him to stay at home till sentencing because of his good behaviour.

He faces 5 years of imprisonment for unregistered lobbying and 3 years for allegedly lying to the FBI during interrogation.

Mr Fai, who is widely respected in Washington’s official and diplomatic circles, openly lobbied for the Kashmir cause.

Senior US officials, lawmakers and scholars attended the seminars and meetings he held regularly for this purpose. Indian scholars and human rights activists also attended those meetings.

Many in the Pakistani and Kashmiri-American communities believe that Mr Fai is a victim of current US-Pakistan tensions. A cooperating witness told the FBI that 80 per cent of Mr Fai’s efforts were specifically dictated to him allegedly by the ISI.

When Mr Fai was arrested, the Pakistani embassy said it had no knowledge of any arrangements between Mr Fai and the ISI.

Fai pleads guilty to working for ISI | Newspaper | DAWN.COM

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