Posted on 10/26/2004 7:29:18 PM PDT by blam
French fury grows over Iraq 'bribes'
By Colin Randall in Paris
(Filed: 27/10/2004)
France has angrily stepped up its attack on an official American report that French public figures and companies took bribes worth millions of pounds from Saddam Hussein to help his bid to have United Nations sanctions lifted.
The French foreign ministry denounced as "inaccurate and unfounded" allegations from the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), the US weapons inspectorate, that French interests took financial benefits in the form of cashable oil vouchers in a rampant abuse of the UN oil-for-food programme.
Saddam was reported to have syphoned off £7 billion of oil-for-food proceeds to fund his regime and reward heads of government, ministers, political parties, businesses, pro-Iraq organisations and friendly individuals. One British citizen and his Jordanian assistant allegedly received vouchers worth £3.36 million.
Jean-David Lévitte, France's ambassador to Washington, has registered France's "displeasure" in calls to the White House and State Department, and called the report's conclusions "absurd".
Charles Pasqua, a former interior minister, was said to have been paid £2.3 million. Ex-defence minister Pierre Joxe reportedly was handed £1 million for the French Socialist Party. Both strongly denied the allegations.
The foreign ministry statement said the report had wrongly identified several businesses involved in oil-for-food as French, whereas they were American but had used French branches, agents or intermediaries.
"Charles Pasqua, a former interior minister, was said to have been paid £2.3 million. Ex-defence minister Pierre Joxe reportedly was handed £1 million for the French Socialist Party. Both strongly denied the allegations. "
My GOD, you simply cannot make this stuff up.
I hope no one who reads this will knowingly purchase a good or service that profits a french company!
Please, let that country completely fade into obscurity.
The french are dead to me.
Talk about simply. SIMPLY check the bank repors and credit card charges... Sheesh, what unethical people.
And the money just ended up in a French bank by mistake - or was that part of the report false also -
The claim France makes about American companies - anyone close to the Clintons perhaps -
Just a wondering -
"inaccurate and unfounded" But, they didn't say it wasn't true.
Hey Kofi! Duck!
5.56mm
"Both strongly denied the allegations." What do frogs in denial sound like? ... pruB, tibbiR [HINT: which language of record in Iraq is written from right to left?]
Is that the humor section
Fine - let's have them cough up their bank statements if there's no truth to this huh?
No wonder the frogs doo-dooed in their pants when we invaded Iraq. This could bring Chiraq down in the next election.
Inacurate and unfounded? Maybe they got at least twice that amount :-D
Someone around here had a list of "American" companies owned by French companies. For instance, Goodyear is owned by Michalen. Red Rood Inns.. BIC... Long list that few of us would have believed.
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