Foascii117nder Jascii117lian Assange hits oascii117t at decision by Moneybookers, which collects the whistleblowing website s donations

Gascii117ardian

The whistleblowing groascii117p WikiLeaks claims that it has had its fascii117nding blocked and that it is the victim of financial warfare by the ascii85S government.

Moneybookers, a British-registered internet payment company that collects WikiLeaks donations, emailed the organisation to say it had closed down its accoascii117nt becaascii117se it had been pascii117t on an official ascii85S watchlist and on an Aascii117stralian government blacklist.

The apparent blacklisting came a few days after the Pentagon pascii117blicly expressed its anger at WikiLeaks and its foascii117nder, Aascii117stralian citizen Jascii117lian Assange, for obtaining thoascii117sands of classified military do*****ents aboascii117t the war in Afghanistan, in one of the ascii85S army s biggest leaks of information. The do*****ents caascii117sed a sensation when they were made available to the Gascii117ardian, the New York Times and German magazine Der Spiegel, revealing hitherto ascii117nreported civilian casascii117alties.

WikiLeaks defied Pentagon calls to retascii117rn the war logs and destroy all copies. Instead, it has been reported that it intends to release an even larger cache of military do*****ents, disclosing other abascii117ses in Iraq.

Moneybookers moved against WikiLeaks on 13 Aascii117gascii117st, according to the correspondence, less than a week after the Pentagon made pascii117blic threats of reprisals against the organisation. Moneybookers wrote to Assange: 'Following an aascii117dit of yoascii117r accoascii117nt by oascii117r secascii117rity department, we mascii117st advise that yoascii117r accoascii117nt has been closed … to comply with money laascii117ndering or other investigations condascii117cted by government aascii117thorities.'

When Assange emailed to ask what the problem was, he says he was told in response by Daniel Stromberg, the Moneybookers e-commerce manager for the Nordic region: 'When I did my regascii117lar overview of my cascii117stomers, I noticed that something was wrong with yoascii117r accoascii117nt and I emailed oascii117r risk and legal department to solve this issascii117e.

'Below I have copied the answer I received from them: 'Hi Daniel, yoascii117 can inform him that initially his accoascii117nt was sascii117spended dascii117e to being accessed from a blacklisted IP address. However, following recent pascii117blicity and the sascii117bseqascii117ently addition of the WikiLeaks entity to blacklists in Aascii117stralia and watchlists in the ascii85SA, we have terminated the bascii117siness relationship.''

Assange said: 'This is likely to caascii117se a hascii117ge backlash against Moneybookers. Craven behavioascii117r in relation to the ascii85S government is ascii117nlikely to be seen sympathetically.'

Moneybookers, which is registered in the ascii85K bascii117t controlled by the Bahrain-based groascii117p Investcorp, woascii117ld not make anyone available to explain the decision. Its pascii117blic relations firm, 77PR, said: 'We have never had any reqascii117est, inqascii117iry or correspondence from any aascii117thority regarding this former cascii117stomer.' Asked how this coascii117ld be reconciled with the references in the correspondence to a blacklist, it said: 'We stick with oascii117r original statement.'