"When bin Laden arrived in Afghanistan, he relied on the Taliban until he was able to reinvigorate his fundraising efforts by drawing on ties to wealthy Saudi individuals that he had established during the Afghan war in the 1980s," the commission said.
In court papers, the lawyers for the Binladin family companies accused plaintiffs in the Sept. 11 cases of "wasting the court's time" with a baseless request that the companies produce additional proof regarding what happened to Osama bin Laden's 2 percent ownership of shares.
"Osama bin Laden never received any buyout payment and has never had access to these funds," the lawyers wrote.
They said the companies consulted with Saudi authorities, who directed that the money be placed in trust outside Osama bin Laden's control.
The lawyers accused the plaintiffs of "wishful thinking" and "wild speculation" that further research might reveal documents demonstrating that Osama bin Laden benefited indirectly from the transfer of money when his shares were taken away.
A message left with a lawyer for the plaintiffs on Monday was not immediately returned.
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