A former US representative from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, 59, pled guilty to charges contained in a 2008 indictment related to his work for the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) of Columbia, Missouri. Co-defendant Abdel Azim El-Siddig, a former IARA fundraiser, also pleaded guilty to conspiring with Siljander and others to hire Siljander to lobby for IARA’s removal from a Senate Finance Committee list of charities suspected of having terrorist ties.

Siljander, who also had been an alternate representative to the United Nations concealed the organization for whom he was lobbying, prosecutors said.

“A former congressman engaged in illegal lobbying for a charity suspected of funding international terrorism. He then used his own charities to hide the payments for his criminal activities,” US Attorney Beth Phillips said.

“Siljander repeatedly lied to FBI agents and prosecutors investigating serious crimes related to national security. With today’s guilty pleas, all of the defendants admitted their guilt and will be held accountable for their actions.”

Siljander requested and received $75,000 dollars of IARA funds in at least three checks handed him by El-Sidding. The funds were funneled through non-profit entities. 

Siljander, a Republican who served as Michigan representative from 1977 to 1981, faces a maximum of 15 years behind bars and a $500,000 dollar fine if convicted. El-Siddig could be sentence to five years plus a $250,000 dollar fine.

IARA executive director and co-defendant Mubarak Hamed, a 53-year old naturalized US citizen originally from Sudan pled guilty June 25 to conspiring to illegally transfer more than $1.mil dollars to Iraq. 

Siljander operated a Washington consulting business called Global Strategies. He also worked with the Missouri-based Islamic charity that was the office of an international organization headquartered in Khartoum, Sudan linked to Al-Qaeda.

The sedonaeye.com acknowledges APF research and contribution to this article.