United Nations officials have removed a Canadian man from a list of suspected al-Qaeda terrorists. Liban Hussein, 31, came under scrutiny because of his Somali-based money transfer business.

Hussein ran Barakaat North America from offices in Boston and Ottawa. His brother Mohamed Hussein co-ran the business.

Barakaat is a hawala, a system of companies that transfers money around the world without leaving a paper trail.

U.S. officials believe terrorists often use the system and they accused the brothers of transferring money to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

Last month, Canada denied a U.S. extradition request for Hussein and provided additional information based on a U.S. request. U.S. officials then agreed to remove Hussein from the UN list, which subjected his business to UN sanctions.

The UN approved the deletion Monday.

Hussein's lawyer says his client's bank account was frozen and he suffered negative publicity.

While the brothers did not face terrorism charges, Mohamed Hussein was charged in Massachusetts for illegally transferring money. State prosecutors say the brothers operated without a licence.