The Beneficiaries of Saddam's Oil Vouchers: The List of 270

The Beneficiaries of Saddam's Oil Vouchers ^

[rotstan]

The following report from MEMRI's Baghdad office is a translation of an article which appeared in the Iraqi daily Al-Mada,(1) which obtained lists of 270 companies, organizations, and individuals awarded allocations (vouchers) of crude oil by Saddam Hussein's regime. The beneficiaries reside in 50 countries: 16 Arab, 17 European, 9 Asian, and the rest from sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Only a portion of the 270 recipients are listed and identified.

[aodell]

How come NBC, CBS, and ABC haven't got ahold of this? HA!

[Shermy]

"Father Benyamin"

Benjamin Committee for Iraq

[Shermy]

"Silvatori Nicotra"

Make that "Silvatore Nicotra"

Subject: A school in a small Sicilian town has begun building a controversial new auditorium, dedicated to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein

Monday, 24 January, 2000

Saddam in limelight at new theatre

by Frances Kennedy in Rome

A school in a small Sicilian town has begun building a controversial new auditorium, dedicated to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The new theatre, at the school in Santa Maria di Licodia, near Catania, is being financed by the local Italo-Iraqi friendship association.

One of the conditions for funding the auditorium, which the cash-strapped local council could not afford to do, was that it be named after Saddam Hussein. The 40 million lire ($22,000) project is due to be completed in April.

The project was the idea of Salvatore Nicotra, a former Nato pilot turned oil trader, who from 1994 has been buying oil from Iraq and has become closely acquainted with ministers and generals.

Mr Nicotra heard a teacher complain that they could not afford an auditorium, so he proposed financing it himself and using it to draw attention to the plight of the Iraqi population as a result of UN sanctions.

The local council, which spans from the hard left Refounded Communists to the right wing Alleanza Nazionale, adopted the project with remarkable speed.

The president and teachers at the Don Bosco school were only informed once the decision had been taken and concerns about linking the school to a man accused of massacring innocent civilians and persecuting Kurds, went unheeded.

......"

[Shermy]

I'm informed...(Jean-)Bernard Merimee, is former French Ambassador to Italy, Morocco and UN Security Council, 1991-1995.

Apparently at one time he "was close" to becoming the head of a branch of French Military Intelligence.

[Shermy]

On February 15, 1999 Merimee was appointed UN "Special Adviser of the Secretary-General for European Issues"

He's close to Kofi. Did he help dole out the Oil for Food goodies???

[Shermy]

More on Maugein...

http://www.intelligenceonline.com/ps/AN/Arch/INT/INT_435.asp?rub=archives

29/08/2002 FRANCE
Patrick Maugein

A lot of people in high places in France are curious about the influence that a 55-year-old businessman, Patrick Maugein, appears to wield with president Jacques Chirac. For quite a few years, Maugein has been locked in a dispute with the American firm Newmont concerning the sale of the Yanococha gold mine in Peru at a bargain-basement price. In late July Maugein, who represented the previous French owners of the mine, got his lawyers to revive the case with documents from the former head of the Peruvian secret service, Vladimiro Montesinos, now in disgrace. The papers allegedly indicate Newman paid a bribe to acquire the mine cheaply. Several people close to Maugein say he obtained a huge stock of Montesinos' papers. Maugein hails from the Correze region, like Chirac, and his family owned the company Maugein Freres in Tulle that long dominated the French market for accordions The family remained highly influential in Correze politics until the early 1980s, a fact that prompted Chirac to take an interest in Patrick after he graduated from the elite Ecole Polytechnique. After a somewhat bizarre start to his career - notably, as a fledgling bull-fighter - Maugein took an interest in mining, armaments and energy on an international level. That drew him into serving on occasion as a go-between for the French presidency, as Loik Le Floch-Prigent, former chairman of Elf, declared in his recent memoirs. He is currently non-executive chairman of the SOCO oil company based in London.
INTELLIGENCE ONLINE N° 435

[gaspar]

Reference your useful information on Merimee, you note a Claude Kaspereit is also involved. This is most assuredly Gabriel Kaspereit, who was (and may be now) "mayor" of Paris's 9th arrondisement (which I believe is dominated by Muslims).

[BlueNgold]

Thanks for the ping.
Gee, who woulda thought the Russians, French and Syrians were in bed with Saddam ...

[thinking]

million barrels at $35.00 - transport charges = +/-35,000,000.00...not a bad playoff.....!

[XHogPilot]

Re: The list of 270, This is worth repeating...

The Iraqis are very interested in thoroughly examining their own recent history. Advocating and advancing such investigations will be an important means for many in the new crop of Iraqi politicians and intelligentsia to gain legitimacy or prestige. There will be tremendous energy devoted to sorting this all out.

"Certain people" should be, and doubtless are, very afraid of a new Iraq full of free and inquisitive citizens.

[browardchad]

"United States: Samir Vincent received 10.5 million barrels. In 2000, Vincent, an Iraqi-born American citizen who has lived in the U.S. since 1958, organized a delegation of Iraqi religious leaders to visit the U.S. and meet with former president Jimmy Carter.

Well, there are others, besides 'ol Jimmuh, and Tom Campbell, that may have some 'splaining to do:

From Jack Kemp Statement on California Gubernatorial Race, 7/26/2003:

In addition, I also have a passion for a rather huge undertaking I’ve begun with influential private and public-sector people to create a 21st-Century Marshall Plan Committee. The Committee is led by Ted Forstmann of Forstmann Little & Co. and includes Peruvian economist and writer Hernando de Soto, Iraqi-American businessman Samir Vincent, Afghan-American businessman Mahmood Karzai, Former Secretary of State James Baker, Former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci, Former Trade Representatives Bill Brock and Charlene Barshefsky, Ambassadors Ed Djerejian, Richard Holbrooke, Jim Jones and others who want to work on helping to bring economic freedom and democratic self rule to Afghanistan, Iraq and Central Asia and the Middle East.

[gaspar]

French sites are speculating that the Bernard Desmaret listed is actually Paul Desmarais, the Canadian entrepreneur and major actor in TotalFinaElf and whose son in law (reportedly) is Chretien's son-in-law.

[gaspar]

On our Canadian friends, see:

http://www.tigerseye.ca/discussion/d030418.htm

[mewzilla]

FNC's David Asman mentioned this story at the end of his noon EST program. Hope it has some legs. The Glencore angle is especially interesting to me. Wonder if the Toons made any money off this?

[XHogPilot]

Here's a correction to your link. List of beneficiaries of Saddam's oil vouchers is much expanded and can be found at:

http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/oillcoupons.html

[Dog]

This is why I love FR we all bring different talents and expertise.....to this site.

[mewzilla]

Thanks for the post. The Russian Orthodox Church?!

[Shermy]

French sites are speculating that the Bernard Desmaret listed is actually Paul Desmarais, the Canadian entrepreneur and major actor in TotalFinaElf and whose son in law (reportedly) is Chretien's son-in-law.

Wow!

Yes indeed, Chretien's daughter married him. The Candian press was gagged when they raised the issue that the family ties to Total might have influenced Chretien's Iraq position.

Mark Steyn was one of the few to comment on the matter.

You got any links? In French is fine.

[mewzilla]

From this site, and it's in English :)

From the link:

The Western oil company with the closest ties to the late Saddam is France's TotalFinaElf. That's not the curious fact, that's just business as usual in the Fifth Republic. This is the curious fact: As Diane wrote in February and again last week, "Total's biggest shareholder is Montreal's Paul Desmarais, whose youngest son is married to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's daughter." Let's see if I've got this straight: TotalFinaElf's largest shareholder is a subsidiary of Montreal's Power Corp, whose co-chief executive is Jean Chrétien's son-in-law, Andre Desmarais. Mr. Desmarais' brother, Paul Desmarais Jr., sits on the Total board.

For months, the anti-war crowd has insisted that "it's all about oil," that the only reason the Iraqi people were being "liberated" was so that the second biggest oil reserves in the world could be annexed in perpetuity by Dick Cheney and Halliburton and the rest of Bush's Texas oilpatch gang. Instead, it turns out that, if it is all about oil, then the principal North American beneficiary of the continued enslavement of the Iraqi people is the family of the Canadian Prime Minister -- that's to say, his daughter, France Chrétien, and his grandchildren.

What a delightful footnote to the Chrétien-Chiraquiste war effort. This is a victory not just for the Iraqi people but for "Anglo-Saxon" reality over Franco-Canadian postmodern cynicism.

[antaresequity]

When is George W. Bush going to learn?

As soon as he curbs spending and deports illegal aliens, and locks down the border like a bulls ass in fly season..

Don't hold your breath