The next day Giangrandi met Somo and a representative of Al Wasel & Babel. He wrote a dozen cheques, for more than $6m, says the witness. Those cheques were never cashed. But an electronic copy of an unsigned fax message, obtained by Il Sole and the FT, refers to a total payment of euro5,507,802 by Italtech to Al Wasel & Babel.
Mr Giangrandi declined to comment on this payment. Bayoil said it "did not as a matter of practice appoint or authorise any company personnel or individuals to work on a commission basis to obtain so-called 'allocations' of Iraqi oil. Bayoil's practice was to negotiate the purchases of Iraqi oil with or through authorised representatives of various companies which had existing, UN-approved contracts with Somo."
Bayoil suspended further purchases of oil from early May 2001 "due to wide press reports of alleged demands by the Iraqis to impose surcharges on those companies in which it had direct contracts", Bayoil says. Over the seven years of its operation, the UN oil-for-food programme allowed a privileged few, both Iraqi and western, who had the access and the means to make a lot of money. But the Italtech story illustrates how difficult it will be for UN and national investigators to pinpoint clearly illegal behaviour.>p> DANGEROUS BUSINESS