Al Qaeda’s Financing: Sources, Movement, Uses Where did al Qaeda get its money?
Al Qaeda depended on fund-raising to support itself. It appears that al Qaeda relied on a core of financial facilitators who raised money from a variety of donors and other fund-raisers. Those donors were primarily in the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia. Some individual donors knew of the ultimate destination of their donations, and others did not;
they were approached by facilitators, fund-raisers, and employees of corrupted charities, particularly during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Executive Summary
September 11 financing
The September 11 hijackers used U.S. and foreign financial institutions to hold, move, and retrieve their money. The hijackers deposited money into U.S. accounts, primarily by wire transfers and deposits of cash or travelers checks brought from overseas. Additionally, several of them kept funds in foreign accounts, which they accessed in the United States through ATM and credit card transactions.
The hijackers received funds from facilitators in Germany and the United Arab Emirates or directly from Khalid Sheikh Mohamed (KSM) as they transited Pakistan before coming to the United States.
The plot cost al Qaeda somewhere in the range of $400,000–500,000, of which approximately $300,000 passed through the hijackers’ bank accounts in the United States.
The hijackers returned approximately $26,000 to a facilitator in the UAE in the days prior to the attack. While in the United States, the hijackers spent money primarily for flight training, travel, and living expenses (such as housing, food, cars, and auto insurance). Extensive investigation has revealed no substantial source of domestic financial support.
http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrFin_Monograph.pdf
Al-Qaeda vows revenge on Saudi Arabia over militants’ executions
Al-Qaeda has pledged to take revenge against Saudi Arabia by saying the Gulf state will pay for executing dozens of the terrorist group’s members, and promised to “deal” with the kingdom.
Al-Qaeda’s Yemeni branch and its North African affiliate called the mass executions, staged by Saudi Arabia on January 2, “a foolish act” - adding that the kingdom had disregarded previous warnings from the group and vowing to “avenge” the “blood of their brothers,” AFP reports.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb called the executions a New Year “gift” to “Crusaders,” apparently referring to Saudi Arabia’s Western allies in a statement posted on social media.
https://www.rt.com/news/328568-qaeda-revenge-saudi-executions/
Qatar's Role in Financing Terrorism
Qatar’s long history with terrorism funding starts from the very top: the royal family, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. A friend of the royal family in Qatar, the 61-year-old hardline businessperson and professor Abd al-Rahman al-Nuaymi, was designated a global terrorist by the U.S. in December 2013. Nuaymi is a Qatari who lives and operates in Qatar.
The U.S. Treasury Department placed sanctions on him and declared him a "Qatar-based terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided money and material support and conveyed communications to al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/qatar-funding-al-qaeda-why-111900369.html
Osama bin Laden and Saudi Arabia
Bin Laden met with King Fahd, and Saudi Defense Minister Sultan, telling them not to depend on non-Muslim assistance from the United States and others, and offering to help defend Saudi Arabia with his Arab legion. Bin Laden's offer was rebuffed, and the Saudi monarchy invited the deployment of U.S. forces in Saudi territory.
Bin Laden publicly denounced Saudi dependence on the U.S. military, arguing the two holiest shrines of Islam, Mecca and Medina, the cities in which the Prophet Mohamed received and recited Allah's message, should only be defended by Muslims. Bin Laden's criticism of the Saudi monarchy led them to try to silence him.
Bin Laden continued to speak publicly against the Saudi government, for which the Saudis banished him. In 1992 he went to live in exile in Sudan, in a deal brokered by Ali Mohamedte]