Mohammed M. bin Laden, a relative of deceased al-Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden, is listed as the owner of a luxury condo unit in Charlestown’s Flagship Wharf complex. A January filing with the Suffolk Registry of Deeds shows Mohammed bin Laden had failed to pay more than $6,000 in taxes and interest on the condo by the end of the last fiscal year.
On Dec. 9, the City of Boston executed an instrument of taking of a 1,210-square-foot Flagship Wharf unit owned by “Mohammed M. Binladen.” City records show Mohammed purchased the unit in 1995 for $245,000. In 2015, the unit is worth an assessed $697,000. The family surname is rendered in different ways in English.
“Instruments of taking are filed for each delinquent parcel at the Registry of Deeds in order to preserve the City’s right to petition for foreclosure,” Boston Treasurer Dave Sweeney said in a statement provided to BostInno. “This particular taking” – for the Bin Laden-owned unit – “was simply one of more than 1,300 filed for 2014.”
Between 1995 and 1996, Mohammed M. Binladen also purchased three separate units in the building for $180,000, $405,000 and $780,000. These units were sold to other buyers – for $430,000, $850,000 and $1.8 million, respectively – over a five-year period, from 2000 and 2005. The now-delinquent fourth unit, purchased for $245,000, is the only property remaining in the bin Laden name at the high-end Charlestown development.
Barry Scheer, an attorney who has handled real estate for members of the bin Laden family, did not return messages seeking information about Mohammed bin Laden’s circumstances. Representatives of Thayer Associates, which manages Flagship Wharf, did not return messages seeking information about the status of the property.
The Bin Laden family’s ties to Boston have been public knowledge for years, dating back to reports published the week of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It’s unclear what exactly Mohammed M. bin Laden’s relationship is to Osama bin Laden: The L.A. Times has identified him as a brother; USA TODAY reported his family relation could not be determined.
However, members of the Bin Laden family had reportedly cut ties to Osama bin Laden. In 2001, Adil Najam, now the Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, told the L.A. Times, “There is an active hatred relationship,” referring to the Bin Laden siblings’ relationship with Osama. “The first thing they tell you is that they have no affiliation with Osama.”
Three additional Flagship Wharf condos were owned and sold by bin Ladens, Saad, Ahmed and Nawaf. In all, seven condos at Flagship Wharf have been owned by people with the bin Laden surname.
In 1995, Saad purchased a $495,000 unit. He later sold the unit, in 1999, for $780,000, according to city records. Nawaf bought a $205,000 unit in 1996. In 2000, he sold it for $435,000.
Nawaf bin Laden is the name of Osama bin Laden’s nephew. His father, Bakr bin Laden, is the chairman of the Saudi Binladin Group board of directors.
Saad bin Laden is the name of one of Osama’s sons. In 2009, Saad – who is believed to have been a minor player in the al-Qaeda terrorist group – was reportedly killed in a United States drone strike in Pakistan.
Photo/public domain
