On September 10, 2002, German police raid the Tatex Trading company, a small textile business located just outside of Hamburg. (Dorfstraße 17, 25566 Rethwisch, Germany) According to Newsweek, German authorities has been “keeping a close watch on the company… for years.” Germans begin preparing a case against the company and the US prepares to freeze the company’s assets.
But by June 2003, the investigation is closed and no action is taken by the US or Germany. Newsweek will claim that “Some US and German officials suggest that both countries decided not to proceed with legal action against Tatex to avoid antagonizing the government of Syria.”
The New Yorker will claim “Tatex was infiltrated by Syrian intelligence in the eighties; one of its shareholders was Mohammed Majed Said, who ran the Syrian intelligence directorate from 1987 to 1994.” Some believe the Syrians infiltrated the company to spy on extremist Syrian exiles in Hamburg, while others believe Syrians were using the company as a front to illegally acquire high-tech equipment from the West. It is claimed that the investigation into Tatex is dropped because Syria has been cooperative with Germany and the US in other areas.
Abdul-Matin Tatari, the Syrian in charge of Tatex, admits that his company had employed Mohammed Haydar Zammar and Mamoun Darkazanli, both of whom have been tied to the Hamburg al-Qaeda cell. Further, the Chicago Tribune claims, “Investigators also say Mohamed Atta himself worked for a time at Tatex, something Tatari vehemently denies. But Tatari admits that one of his sons signed Atta’s petition to establish an Islamic ‘study group’ at Hamburg’s Technical University that served as a rendezvous for the hijackers and their supporters.” Tatari’s son took trips with Mounir El Motassadeq, who also has been tied to the Hamburg cell. Tatari, Zammar, Darkazanli, and Atta all are believed to be members of the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a secret society banned in Egypt.
Triple-B trading was here as well:
In addition to Tatex, Tatari also owned a second company, Triple-B Trading. Both Tatex and Triple-B were listed as export-import companies. Triple-B stands for the names of the three principal owners from Saudi Arabia.
The owners are Adel Abdul Jalil Batterjee, a friend of Osama bin Laden and chairman of both the al-Shamal Islamic Bank and the Saudi charity organization World Assembly of Muslim Youth; Mohammad Bahareth of the Saudi construction conglomerate Bahareth Organization; and Hassan Bahfzallah.
Batterjee was associated with Enaam M. Arnaout through the U.S.-sanctioned charity Benevolence International Foundation
Investigators also say Atta himself worked for a time at Tatex, which Tatari vehemently denies. But Tatari admits that one of his sons signed Atta's petition to establish an Islamic "study group" at Hamburg's Technical University that served as a rendezvous for the hijackers and their supporters.
The son, Mohammed Hady Tatari, also is close to another former Hamburg student, Mounir El Motassadeq, who currently is on trial in Hamburg, charged with providing the hijackers material support.
According to Tatari, his son stood as a witness at Motassadeq's wedding. He said the pair also traveled to Denmark for an undisclosed purpose in March 2000, at a time when the hijacking plans were being laid in Hamburg.
A man named Mazin Bahareth is listed on Sunbiz as the incorporator of Benevolence International in Plantation, Florida, alongside Adel and Sharir Batterjee. This may be the Mazin of Triple-B Trading. A man named Keith M Gagnon used the same Post Office box as these three in Fl. IN 2006 Keith Gagnon was shot by a man named Clifford Fortner.