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Spain arrests suspected al Qaeda member

A masked police officer stands in front of Syrian-born Spaniard Muhammed Galeb Zouaydi after his arrest in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday.

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police Tuesday arrested a suspected al Qaeda member in Madrid, and a senior official close to the investigation told CNN that the man was linked to the September 11 attacks and may have met Mohammed Atta, a hijacker in those attacks.

The suspect, Muhammed Galeb Zouaydi, is a Syrian-born Spaniard who helped run the business structure of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

He is suspected of channelling large sums of money to leading radical Islamic activists in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Belgium, Turkey, China, and the Palestinian territories, the Interior Ministry said.

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The senior official told CNN that Zouaydi may have funnelled $2 million dollars to contacts in those countries and he described Zouaydi as "one of the authentic financiers" of the terrorist network.

But the man's wife and lawyer told CNN on Wednesday that he was innocent.

Atta, whom the FBI says was a linchpin of the September 11 attacks, was in Spain twice last year, in January and July.

Another investigative source told CNN on Tuesday that Zouaydi and Atta may have met in person, but the senior official said that was under investigation and not confirmed.

Zouaydi financed the activities of eight other suspected al Qaeda members who were arrested last November in Spain, the Interior Ministry said. Authorities have linked the eight to the September 11 attacks.

The senior official told CNN that Zouaydi, along with the alleged leader of the eight, Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, are the two most important al Qaeda suspects arrested in Spain since the September 11 attacks.

Zouaydi came under suspicion when the eight were arrested in various Spanish towns last November, the senior official said, but authorities did not detain him at the time, opting instead to gather further evidence.

Zouadydi's wife told CNN's Al Goodman, that she is also a Syrian-born Spaniard like her husband.

Despite not giving her name she said they have lived in Spain for the last three years, spent the previous eight years in Saudi Arabia, and lived the six years before that in Spain.

The couple has five children, ranging in age from three to 15 years.

She said the couple's home and her husband's business were searched following his arrest Monday.

Spain has arrested a total of 17 suspected Islamic terrorists since the September 11 attacks, and 10 have now been linked to those attacks.

Near Barcelona on April 13, police arrested the alleged financial chief in Spain of al Qaeda, Ahmed Brahim, 56. He has been jailed on charges of belonging to a terrorist group, but officials have not linked him to the September 11 attacks.

Zouaydi, 41, financed terrorist activities under the cover of running a business of property development and sales, the Interior Ministry said.

Zouaydi's attorney, Maria Angeles Ruiz Martinez -- who said she has represented him in his business endeavours in Spain -- said her client is innocent.

The ministry said Zouaydi also had links to Mamoun Darkazanli, alias Abu Ilyas, reputedly a close associate of Atta. Darkazanli was cited last November in a Spanish court document which said German authorities had blocked his financial accounts because of his alleged links to bin Laden.

Security officials have previously told CNN that Spain has been an important rear-guard base for the al Qaeda network, providing safe houses, financing and fake documents for terrorists on their way to commit attacks elsewhere.