For the first time, the U.S. is claiming that Saudi Arabian charities and the Saudi Government have funneled millions of dollars to a company allegedly associated with members of Al Qaeda and the Islamic Resistance Movement. The company is BMI, a New Jersey investment firm.

The allegation is contained in an affidavit by David Kane of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, filed in a federal case in Northern Virginia

Kane's affidavit was filed in support of the detention of Soliman S. Biheiri, who was indicted two weeks ago on charges of making false statements to obtain U.S. residency and other immigration charges. Before that, he was secretly held for more than a month as a material witness in the Justice Department's investigation of terrorist financing, according to knowledgeable sources.

....Biheiri founded BMI Inc., an investment firm that adhered to Islamic principles, in Secaucus, N.J., in 1986. One of BMI's chief investors was Saudi businessman Yasin Qadi, who the United States and United Nations named a "specially designated global terrorist" in October 2001 for his alleged support of both al Qaeda and the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas. Another major BMI investor, according to court documents, was Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook.

Here's how the investigation began:

In March 2002, federal agents raided about 100 companies operating in a single office at 555 Grove St. in Herndon and took hundreds of boxes of documents. No charges have been brought so far against any companies or individuals as a result of that action and the ensuing investigation.

The sprawling probe, active on four continents, is the largest current U.S. investigation into terrorist financing, U.S. officials said.