The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber made secret trips to Europe hoping to fund multiple terror attacks, the Mirror has revealed.
At one point, Hashem Abedi lived in Germany for over six months to build up contacts with an Islamic State-supporting network suspected of financing outrages across Europe.
Abedi, now 22, was this week found guilty of murdering 22 people including children at an Ariana Granda concert on May 22, 2017, in the suicide blast set off by his older brother Salman, 22.
He was also convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions and attempted murder of the 264 people injured.
A Mirror investigation has discovered he spent the six months immediately prior to the attack in the Leipzig and Weissenfels area, where he worked as a driver. He met with possible financiers before the attack.
Three of his contacts worked in property and were suspected of money laundering. One was raided by police for tax evasion and violation of labour laws. The second was reportedly arrested in Dubai for violating trade embargoes on Libya.
A third was a Libyan who praised Islamist “martyrs” online and allegedly has close links to a militia group loyal to late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
He also has extensive social media links to Manchester. One man who met Hashem said: “He stood out. Most of the community in that area are Libyan exiles. He was obviously in awe of his brother – it seemed his brother was the person who really raised him.