London: With the war on Iraq almost over, the hunt is now on to trace Saddam
Hussein's fortune of up to 10 billion Pounds stashed in UK and other countries in
Europe and return it to Iraq.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair told members of his war Cabinet at Downing Street
on April 12 that government departments should do "everything possible" to help the
Bank of England and other institutions find the dictator's cash.
According to official sources, more than 10 billion Pounds in Iraqi assets have been
frozen in the US and 600 million Pounds in Britain.
Saddam's fortune is thought to be scattered in a complex network of front companies
and secret bank accounts from Panama to Jordan.
Investigators reported signs of large sums of money moving from Iraqi government
accounts to private accounts in the Middle East. One investigator said, "People with
connections are trying to loot what they can."
Blair told colleagues that the transformation to Democracy in Iraq would be "fluid
and ragged". But he said the looting and violence in Baghdad would die down.
Blair also said the coalition would have to deal with members of the Baath party in
the rebuilding of the country's infrastructure.
A Downing Street spokesman said, "It is likely that the rebuilding process will
include co-operation from Baath party officials.
"But that will be at a lower level than the leaders who gave the orders."
A Downing Street spokesman said at least 400 million Pounds of Iraqi money had
been frozen in the UK. "We are looking at tracking down and seizing the funds of
the Iraqi regime," he said.
According to a report in 'The Sunday Times' on April 13, Saddam Hussein used
secret accounts – one of which was codenamed 'Satan' – to collect commission
from weapons and oil contracts for more than 20 years.
The Satan account, number 70513, was at the Banca del Gottardo in Nassau, in the
Bahamas. The account was also used to transfer millions of Pounds around the
world, with up to 50 million Pounds passing through it every six months. Funds
were moved to individual and corporate accounts at British and foreign banks.
The secret financial network was created by Elio Borradori, a Swiss banking
expert. Documents show Borradori, 75, set up companies for the Iraqis under a
parent group based in his hometown of Lugano, Switzerland, and he was a
signatory on many of the accounts.
The covert financial empire was controlled by Saddam's half-brother, Barzan
Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, reported killed last week in a US air strike.
More than 1,000 documents recovered in Baghdad reveal how Saddam used nearly
50 bank accounts and more than 300 offshore companies to channel a fortune
overseas while he was arming Iraq.
The network, which included accounts in the Bahamas, Panama and Geneva, is
suspected of being subsequently used in the 1990s to collect illicit kickbacks
from the UN oil-for-food programme, under which Iraq was allowed to buy
humanitarian goods in return for oil.
PTI
