Canadian police freeze $2m in cash and assets

Canadian police investigating Osama bin Laden's financial network have frozen 26 bank accounts.

The accounts contain cash and assets worth around $2m.

Police suspected the funds were destined for the Al-Qaida network via small underground operations linked to big companies and non-profit organisations.

They were frozen in Toronto, Waterloo, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton and British Colombia.

They were discovered by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police task force formed to track the source and movement of terrorist funds.

An official told the Toronto Sun the accounts held a small amount of cash, along with mortgage and investment portfolios.

One of the firms is the Ottawa branch of Barakaat North America, which has been shut down in the US for its apparent links with Al-Qaida.