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Investigation: Money trail hunt continues

Attorney General John Ashcroft speaking at a recent news conference.

SUMMARY:

The United Arab Emirates' banking practices are under review after government officials said they believe the financial system was used as a transfer point for the suspects of the September 11 attacks in the United States.

Meanwhile, after 40 days of the most aggressive criminal investigation in U.S. history, federal law enforcement officials have arrested more than 800 people but have failed to develop evidence that anyone now in custody was a conspirator in the September 11 terror attacks, The New York Times reported.

Seventeen months after three managers pleaded guilty to breaking FAA rules by allowing untrained employees -- some with criminal backgrounds -- to operate airport checkpoints, an airport security firm is expected to admit it failed to complete court-ordered background checks on its employees, the U.S. Attorney said.

UPDATE:

The review in the United Arab Emirates stems from the fact that a man believed to be one of the financial chiefs for suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden went to Dubai, the UAE commercial center, from Qatar in late June and remained until September 12, when he flew to Karachi, Pakistan. (Full story)

Investigative sources say just prior to the September 11 attacks, three of the suspected hijackers sent more than $15,000 to a man known as Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawasawi, a man investigators say stayed in Dubai for two months and is believed to have been one of the al Qaeda money men behind the attacks.

The UAE government said earlier in October that two days before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a man it then identified only as a Saudi Arabian passport holder had received wired payments from three of the hijackers -- Waleed M. Alshehri; Marwan Al-Shehhi, who is believed to have been at the controls of the second plane that crashed into the World Trade Center; and Mohamed Atta.

Despite arresting 830 people and pursuing more than 365,000 tips from the public, senior U.S. investigators acknowledged that most of their promising leads for finding accomplices and some of their long-held suspicions about several suspects have unraveled, The Times reported in its Sunday editions.

Beyond that, none of the nearly 100 people still being sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation is seen as a major suspect, law enforcement officials said.

Meanwhile, the admission by Argenbright Security Inc. will be made under the terms of a proposed settlement with the federal government. Representatives of Argenbright were not immediately available for comment.

The agreement, posted on the Department of Justice's Web site, calls for a series of corrective measures, including extending Argenbright's original three-year probation to five years, ending in October 2005. (Full story)

•  Summary   •  Update   •  Key questions   •  Who's who   •  Impact

CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

VIDEO CNN's Lisa Barron reports that since the September 11 attacks more companies are verifying credentials of potential business partners (October 21) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

KEY QUESTIONS:

What clues about the September 11 attacks have U.S. investogators learned from the hundreds of arrests made?

How will the expansion of law-enforcement powers affect Americans' civil liberties? Click here for more.

How long can suspects be held, and on what charges are they being held? Click here for more.

How are people identified as suspected terrorists communicating with each other? Click here for more.

How are law-enforcement authorities using technology such as encryption tools to hunt terrorists? Click here for more.

What groups are U.S. investigators focusing on, and what are their aims? Click here for more.

How would law-enforcement authorities go after financial assets of people identified as terrorists? Click here for more.

WHO'S WHO:

George W. Bush: U.S. president

Colin Powell: U.S. secretary of state Click here for more

Condoleezza Rice: National security adviser Click here for more

John Ashcroft: U.S. attorney general

Robert Mueller: FBI director Click here for more

George Tenet: CIA director. Click here for more

Osama bin Laden: U.S. authorities have named bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi exile living in Afghanistan, as the prime suspect in masterminding the September 11 attacks. Click here for more

IMPACT:

Information gained from the investigation could lead to fundamental changes in U.S. security and intelligence systems, as well as surveillance laws.