Posted on 06/20/2003 12:45:33 PM PDT by knighthawk
Zurich - About $3.5m worth of Iraqi gold is currently sitting in the vaults of a metals processing company in Switzerland, a Swiss weekly reported on Friday.
The Iraqi embassy in Switzerland sent about 300kg of gold bullion to the Neuchatel-based company in 1991, according to the business magazine Cash.
It said the head of the company, Hans-Juerg Schaer, had confirmed that Metalor, which specialises in smelting and reprocessing precious metals, still had the gold, the requivalent of 4.5 million Swiss francs or three million euros.
Some 386 million Swiss francs in deposits made by Iraqis are being held by Swiss banks, according to Switzerland's central bank, but the data does not include funds managed by accountants or lawyers in Switzerland.
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is thought to have kept about $10bn abroad.
When the Jewish community wanted money for victims of the 2nd World War, they put enough pressure to make the Swiss banks give billions. (Why would they do so, if they did not even more to hide, I am sure it was not because they felt gulity).
Now who else is syphoning money into Swiss banks. UBL, Saddam and any other would be terrorist or dictator, how can we track terror money, if they have swiss bank accounts and move the money around the world at will.
It is still very simple to open a Swiss Bank account and you do not even have to go to Switzerland, and when open its just a number, nothing else.
Why Why Why do the goverments of the world not pressure these people to change their baking laws, or do we have to wait for another 9/11 before taking action.
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