Posted on 07/30/2003 2:30:50 PM PDT by knighthawk
MOSCOW: A senior Russian lawmaker on Wednesday said he suspected that US$3 million dollars stolen from the Iraqi Embassy in Moscow was intended to bribe Russian politicians in exchange for support of Saddam Hussein's regime.
Dmitry Rogozin, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Russia's lower house of parliament, told the Interfax news agency that embassies never keep such large sums of money on hand.
"My theory is that this enormous sum was intended for political reasons, possibly for bribing Russian officials and politicians in an attempt to secure their support for the toppled Saddam Hussein regime," Rogozin said.
Rogozin added that he had been approached by a former Iraqi official to go to Baghdad and speak in support of Saddam in return for "a political quota." It was unclear whether Rogozin meant he was asked to do this before Saddam's government fell or after.
The money was stolen early Tuesday when several gunmen sneaked into the embassy, tied up a security guard and took keys to a strongbox that contained the money and other items, according to an embassy employee's account.
An Iraqi Embassy official denied Rogozin's accusation, saying the money had long been kept in the embassy to pay for everyday expenses.
"This sum was in the embassy to pay for expenses, for salaries, for the rent of employees' apartments. It had nothing to do with what Rogozin said," said Jabir Hasoun Ali, the embassy's first secretary.
He added that such a large amount of money was kept in a safe because previous U.N. sanctions prevented the embassy from opening a bank account.
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