It was determined to be a front for terrorist group Al-Qaeda and was banned by the United Nations Security Council Committee 1267[1] and the US Department of the Treasury in November 2002.
[2][4] Their website stated that they were a "humanitarian organization helping those afflicted by wars" and providing "short-term relief such as emergency food distribution, long term projects, education and self-sufficiency to the children, widowed, refugees, injured and staff of vital governmental institutions.
"[5] The BIF had offices in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo and Zenica), Canada, China, Croatia, Georgia (Duisi and Tbilisi), the Netherlands, Pakistan (Islamabad, Peshawar), the Palestinian Territories, Russia (Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Moscow), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh and Jeddah), Sudan, Tajikistan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Yemen.
The group was a "charity" that openly supported fighters against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, supplying weapons and funds to the Mujaheddin and facilitating the immigration of foreign volunteer jihadists into that conflict zone.
The U.S. government also alleged that the group was aiding the travel of terrorists, including Khalifa, Bayazid, and al-Qaeda co-founder Mamdouh Salim.
During a sentencing hearing in August 2003, U.S. District Judge Suzanne Conlon told prosecutors they had "failed to connect the dots" and said there was no evidence that Arnaout "identified with or supported" terrorism.
[9] These allegations were withdrawn as part of a February 2003 plea bargain in which Enaam Arnaout pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.