ABC Scoop on UN Scandal: "Monumental Rip-Off?"

ABC ^ | Apr 21, 2004 | Brian Ross

[The Raven]

April 20 — At least three senior United Nations officials are suspected of taking multi-million dollar bribes from the Saddam Hussein regime, U.S. and European intelligence sources tell ABCNEWS.

One year after his fall, U.S. officials say they have evidence, some in cash, that Saddam diverted to his personal bank accounts approximately $5 billion from the United Nations Oil-for-Food program.

In what has been described as the largest humanitarian aid effort ever undertaken, the U.N. Oil-for-Food program began in 1996 to help Iraqis who were suffering under sanctions imposed following the first Gulf War.

The program allowed Iraq to sell limited amounts of oil, under supposedly tight U.N. supervision, to finance the purchase of much-needed humanitarian goods.

Most prominent among those accused in the scandal is Benon Sevan, the Cyprus-born U.N. undersecretary general who ran the program for six years.

In an interview with ABCNEWS last year, Sevan denied any wrongdoing.

"Well, I can tell you there have been no allegations about me," he said. "Maybe you can try to dig it out." And in a Feb. 10 statement, Sevan challenged those making the allegations to "come forward and provide the necessary documentary evidence" and present it to U.N. investigators.

But documents have surfaced in Baghdad, in the files of the former Iraqi Oil Ministry, allegedly linking Sevan to a pay-off scheme in which some 270 prominent foreign officials received the right to trade in Iraqi oil at cut-rate prices.

"It's almost like having coupons of bonds or shares. You can sell those coupons to other people who are normal oil traders," said Claude Hankes-Drielsma, a British adviser to the Iraq Governing Council.

Investigators say the smoking gun is a letter to former Iraqi oil minister Amer Mohammed Rasheed, obtained by ABCNEWS and not yet in the hands of the United Nations.

[The Raven]

Step 1: We need to line up the bribes with their votes on Iraq.

Step 2: We need to rethink what would have happened if the votes were by logic and not tampered.

Step 3: We need to examine Kerry's motives for transferring power to the UN.

[magua]

how many coupons did george soros and marc rich recieve?

[Judith Anne]

Part of the bribe money was to delay the start of the war so that the WMD could be shipped to Syria.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

U.S. and European intelligence sources tell ABCNEWS

Two words that should never be used in the same sentence !

The real question is what did they fabricate and how long will it be before the real truth comes out and whos arse are they covering for ?

[stocksthatgoup]

Does this mean that Kofi Anan was responsible for 1000s of Iraqi children starving and dying for lack of food and medicine?? Now let's move on to the world criminal court.

[backhoe]

-"No Blood for Oil"- Kojo & Kofi: Unbelievable U.N. stories--

[kcvl]

the U.N. Oil-for-Food program began in 1996 (where were you Madeline Albright, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.)

The beneficiary list (found in the archives of the Iraqi Oil Ministry and translated into English by the Middle East Media Research Institute) should be deeply embarrassing to many prominent people. In the United States, those listed include Iraqi American businessman Shaker Al-Khaffaji, who put up $400,000 to produce a film by ex-U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter, which aimed to discredit weapons inspections in Iraq. Also, British Labor MP George Galloway, a strident foe of taking action against Saddam, is listed as a recipient or co-recipient of 19.5 million barrels.

Other recipients include: former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua (12 million barrels); Patrick Maugein, CEO of the oil company Soco International and financial backer of French President Jacques Chirac (25 million); former French Ambassador to the United Nations Jean-Bernard Merimee (11 million); Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri (10 million); and Syrian businessman Farras Mustafa Tlass, the son of longtime Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass (6 million). Leith Shbeilat, chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the Jordanian Parliament, received 15.5 million.

[kcvl]

Anyone who was involved in this should be put in a cell next to Saddam Hussein and let the Iraqi people put them on "trial".


*****

The second page of the letter contains a table entitled "Quantity of Oil Allocated and Given to Mr. Benon Sevan." The table lists a total of 7.3 million barrels of oil as the "quantity executed" — an amount that, if true, would have generated an illegal profit of as much as $3.5 million.

snip

The following are the names of some of those listed as receiving Iraqi oil contracts (amounts are in millions of barrels of oil):

Russia
The Companies of the Russian Communist Party: 137 million
The Companies of the Liberal Democratic Party: 79.8 million
The Russian Committee for Solidarity with Iraq: 6.5 million and 12.5 million (two separate contracts)
Head of the Russian Presidential Cabinet: 90 million
The Russian Orthodox Church: 5 million


France
Charles Pasqua, former minister of interior: 12 million
Trafigura (Patrick Maugein), businessman: 25 million
Ibex: 47.2 million
Bernard Merimee, former French ambassador to the United Nations: 3 million
Michel Grimard, founder of the French-Iraqi Export Club: 17.1 million


Syria
Firas Mostafa Tlass, son of Syria's defense minister: 6 million

Turkey
Zeynel Abidin Erdem: more than 27 million
Lotfy Doghan: more than 11 million

Indonesia
Megawati Sukarnoputri: 11 million

Spain
Ali Ballout, Lebanese journalist: 8.8 million

Yugoslavia
The Socialist Party: 22 million
Kostunica's Party: 6 million

Canada
Arthur Millholland, president and CEO of Oilexco: 9.5 million

Italy
Father Benjamin, a French Catholic priest who arranged a meeting between the pope and Tariq Aziz: 4.5 million
Roberto Frimigoni: 24.5 million

United States
Samir Vincent: 7 million
Shakir Alkhalaji: 10.5 million

United Kingdom
George Galloway, member of Parliament: 19 million
Mujaheddin Khalq: 36.5 million

South Africa
Tokyo Saxwale: 4 million

Jordan
Shaker bin Zaid: 6.5 million
The Jordanian Ministry of Energy: 5 million
Fawaz Zureikat: 6 million
Toujan Al Faisal, former member of Parliament: 3 million

Lebanon
The son of President Lahoud: 5.5 million

Egypt
Khaled Abdel Nasser: 16.5 million
Emad Al Galda, businessman and Parliament member: 14 million

Palestinian Territories
The Palestinian Liberation Organization: 4 million
Abu Al Abbas: 11.5 million

Qatar
Hamad bin Ali Al Thany: 14 million

Libya
Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem: 1 million

Chad
Foreign minister of Chad: 3 million

Brazil
The October 8th Movement: 4.5 million

Myanmar (Burma)
The minister of the Forests of Myanmar: 5 million

Ukraine
The Social Democratic Party: 8.5 million
The Communist Party: 6 million
The Socialist Party: 2 million
The FTD oil company: 2 million

[kcvl]

International support for the sanctions is waning, since it appears to have failed in stopping—or, at least, in monitoring—weapons development. More importantly, from a moral perspective, it is itself a weapon of mass destruction, causing the deaths of people and the suffering of many others who have no power to effect the political outcomes the Security Council set out to achieve.

Many people are mobilizing to effect a change in this failed international policy. Iraqi-born U.S. citizen Samir Vincent, who has lived in the United States since 1958, calls action on the embargo a “political dead end.”

Samir Vincent: 7 million

He should be HUNG!

[kcvl]

Shakir Alkhalaji who exec produced that sensational documentary "In Shifting Sands: the Truth about Unscom and the Disarming of Iraq," helmed by renowned auteur Scott Ritter

Shakir Alkhalaji: 10.5 million

He should also be HUNG!

[hershey]

Did we ever get hold of Saddam's loot stored overseas? Just one more thing to return to Iraq and help pay for reconstruction.

[Doogle]

...let's start this off right

ABC news couldn't find a scoop at the biggest "dog run" in the world

Doogle

[Just mythoughts]

I am beginning to wonder if the 1994 deal of "Nukes and Food" for the N.Korean dictator, was the prototype for the UN program of "Oil for Food".

Russia could no longer afford their puppet state of N.Korea and Clintons adopted the N.Koreans and gave them their "Nukes and Food".

It was the Clintons stated foreign policy to "EQUALIZE ALL NATIONS". NUKES are considered the "EQUALIZER" these days.

[kcvl]

Mr. Millholland has been an outspoken critic of the war against Iraq and a long-time participant in Iraqi humanitarian projects such as the United Nations' oil-for-food program. He was unavailable yesterday for comment.

Donn Lovett, a Calgary businessman who works with Mr. Millholland on Iraqi issues, said the oil executive refused to accept any bribes from the Iraqi government. Mr. Lovett said Mr. Millholland opposed the war but was also an opponent of Mr. Hussein. "He thought Hussein was disgusting."

Mr. Millholland became involved in Iraqi issues during a visit to the country in 1997.

"Somebody over there took him to a hospital and showed him what was happening to the children," Mr. Lovett said. "So Arthur came back to Canada screaming about the conditions of the children and what we were doing as a country."

Mr. Millholland became an outspoken critic of economic sanctions against Iraq. He even appeared before a parliamentary committee to push the government to lead an international effort to lift sanctions and open relations with Iraq.

In 1998, Oilexco became the only Canadian company to participate in an oil-for-food program that allowed Iraq to sell a limited amount of oil, through the UN, and use the proceeds to buy food. Mr. Millholland said at the time that Oilexco was also hoping to become involved in oil projects in Iraq once sanctions were lifted.

In late 2002, Mr. Millholland organized a visit to Iraq by a group of Canadians, including an MP, in an attempt to stop the war. He also offered to use his close contacts with Iraqi government officials, including former foreign minister Tariq Aziz, to help broker a deal to avoid the conflict.

[kcvl]

Abu al-Abbas will be buried in Syria
Syria-Palestine, Politics, 3/16/2004

An official in the Palestine Liberation Front said yesterday that the body of the secretary general of front Muhammad Abbas ( Abu al-Abbas) who died in an American detention camp in Iraq will be buried in Syria after Israel had refused to permit him into the West Bank.

*****

The "Palestinian Liberation Front" (PLF), headed by Muhammad Ahmad Fahd Abbas / Zaydan (Abu al-Abbas) is a terrorist organization which carried out spectacular and murderous terrorist attacks, one of which culminated in the murder of a disabled US citizen (the Achille Lauro hijacking, 1985). The organization is included in the list of 28 foreign terrorist organizations, which the US State Department defines as organizations threatening US national security. Since the beginning of the 1990s, Abu al-Abbas and other activists of the PLF leadership reside in Iraq and employ terrorist squads that operate in the PA, directed by the Iraqi regime.

*****

Abu al-Abbas 11.5 million

[the_Watchman]

United States
Samir Vincent: 7 million
Shakir Alkhalaji: 10.5 million

A little research is in order here! Any political contributions by either of these fellows?

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Iraq Oil-for-Food inquiry panel could be announced Wednesday – UN spokesman

20 April 2004 – An official announcement that Secretary-General Kofi Annan will set up an independent inquiry to look into allegations of corruption in the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq is expected on Wednesday, his spokesman confirmed today.

Asked about the official announcement of the Oil-for-Food Independent Inquiry, Fred Eckhard said letters of appointment for the members were going to go out today or tomorrow.

Last week, the UN confirmed, again in response to press questions, that three persons had been identified to serve on the panel: Paul Volcker, former head of the United States Federal Reserve Bank; Mark Pieth of Switzerland, an expert on money-laundering in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); and Richard Goldstone of South Africa, former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

Today, Security Council members were scheduled to discuss a draft resolution welcoming the inquiry.

UN Oil-for-Food Website

[kcvl]

See post #9 and #10 for the research on those two.

[kcvl]

The group, Mujaheddin-e Khalq, citing informants inside the Iranian government, claims the anthrax weapons are the first fruits of a programme begun secretly in 2001 to triple the size of Iran's biowarfare programme. The push for new biological weapons was launched in parallel with a more ambitious campaign to build massive nuclear facilities capable of producing components for nuclear bombs, alleged officials of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political arm of the Mujaheddin, which seeks the overthrow of the Iranian government.

The opposition group's claims, if true, would suggest that Iran's pursuit of biological weapons is more aggressive than previously believed. The Mujaheddin Khalq, also known as the People's Mujaheddin, is listed by the State Department as a terrorist group, though weapons experts and intelligence officials say many of the group's past claims about Iranian weapons programmes have been largely reliable. The group first exposed a massive nuclear facility built near the town of Natanz to make enriched uranium, which can be used for commercial nuclear power plants or to make nuclear weapons.

The Mujaheddin has been fighting for survival after some of its Iraq-based military camps came under attack by U.S. forces during the war. Although the Mujaheddin claimed neutrality in the U.S.-led campaign against Iraq, the Bush administration decided to bomb Mujaheddin bases in an apparent attempt to thaw relations with Iran. Later, U.S. Central Command arran-ged a ceasefire that allowed the group to keep many of its weap-ons and maintain its camps. But then the Bush administration decided to actively seek its surrender.

[kcvl]

Mr Zureikat, 49, ran a Jordanian organisation called the National Mobilisation Committee for the Defence of Iraq (NMCDI) and the international Rebuilding Baghdad Library Campaign.

He got to know Mr Galloway through the MP's wife, Amineh Abu-Zayyad, a Palestinian biologist with whom he attended university in Jordan.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Iraqi documents found by its reporter included biographical notes on Mr Zureikat which described him as "a sympathiser with Iraq" and said he had supplied the Iraqi government with "developed civil and military equipment".