Saddam Funded Palestinian Terrorists With O.F.F. Money

The Scotsman - Saddam bankrolled Palestinian terrorists

SADDAM Hussein’s links to terrorism have been proven by documents showing he helped to fund the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The PFLP, whose history of terrorism dates back to the "black September" hijackings of 1970, was personally vetted by Saddam to receive oil vouchers worth £40 million.

The deal has been uncovered by US investigators, trawling millions of pages of documents showing a network of diplomats bribed by Saddam’s regimes, and political parties who qualified for backhanded payments from Baghdad.

The Iraq Survey Group (ISG), which is still working its way through 20,000 boxes of documents from Saddam’s Baath party discovered only recently, found a list of pressure groups bankrolled by Saddam.

Using the United Nations’ own oil-for-food scheme - ironically intended as a sanction to control the behaviour of his dictatorship - Saddam gave Awad Ammora & Partners, a Syrian company, two million barrels of oil.

Documents handed over to US authorities by a former Iraqi oil minister only four months ago show that this was a front for the PFLP - which was then embarked on a spate of car bombings aimed at Israeli officials.

The Iraqi records show only one six-month period - suggesting the payments could go on for much longer. While some allocations to the likes of Russian political parties were not cashed in, the PFLP oil deal was carried out in full.

Since its inception after the Six-Day War of 1967, the PFLP has been dedicated to violence - and for this reason split from the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) when it accepted the peace process.

(Full article at link. Thanks to Captain Ed.)

Another Leaked Document Points To U.N. Buyoff

The Sunday Times - Saddam ‘bought UN allies’ with oil

A LEAKED report has exposed the extent of alleged corruption in the United Nations’ oil-for-food scheme in Iraq, identifying up to 200 individuals and companies that made profits running into hundreds of millions of pounds from it.

The report largely implicates France and Russia, whom Saddam Hussein targeted as he sought support on the UN Security Council before the Iraq war. Both countries were influential voices against UN-backed action.

A senior UN official responsible for the scheme is identified as a major beneficiary. The report, marked “highly confidential”, also finds that the private office of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, profited from the cheap oil. Saddam’s regime awarded this oil during the run-up to the war when military action was being discussed at the UN.

The report was drawn up on behalf of the interim Iraqi government in preparation for a possible legal action against those who may have illicitly profited under Saddam. The Iraqis hired the London-based accountants KPMG and lawyers Freshfields to advise on future action.

...

The other main allegations included in the report are that:

Benon Sevan, director of the UN oil-for-food programme, received 9.3m barrels of oil from the regime which he is estimated to have sold for a profit of £670,000. Sevan has always denied any improper conduct.

A former senior aide to Putin allegedly organised the sale of almost 4m barrels of oil at a profit of more than £330,000. At the time the oil was sold, Russia was blocking the UN from supporting America’s demands to attack Iraq. According to the report, the aide, who worked in the presidential office, received 3.9m barrels of oil between May and December 2002.

In the two months during the run-up to the war, the Iraqi regime illegally sold about £30m of oil to a Jordanian-based company with the money deposited in a Jordanian bank account established by the regime. This is suspected to have been an attempt to secure safe passage for Saddam’s family in the event of war.

A French oil company teamed up with the regime to bribe a UN-appointed inspector monitoring exports of Iraqi oil. The inspector, a Portuguese national working for Saybolt, a Dutch firm, was paid a total of £58,000 in cash to forge export documents.

The French firm is linked to a close associate of Jacques Chirac, the country’s president. A spokesman for Saybolt said it would be investigating the allegations.

Saddam imposed a surcharge of between 10 cents and 50 cents (5p to 27p) for every barrel of oil allocated by his regime between September 2000 and the end of 2002.

The money raised from this illegal surcharge was deposited in bank accounts in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Iraqi embassies, including those in Moscow, Athens, Cairo, Rome, Vienna and Geneva, collected the money.

We'll be on the lookout for a copy of the official document.

(Full article at link. Thanks again to Ron Norman.)

Fox News With Fresh Info on OFF/Terror Connection

Fox News: Possible Saddam-Al Qaeda Link Seen in U.N. Oil-for-Food Program

LUGANO, Switzerland — Did Saddam Hussein use any of his ill-gotten billions filched from the United Nations Oil-for-Food program to help fund Al Qaeda?

Investigations have shown that the former Iraqi dictator grafted and smuggled more than $10 billion from the program that for seven years prior to Saddam's overthrow was meant to bring humanitarian aid to ordinary Iraqis. And the Sept. 11 Commission has shown a tracery of contacts between Saddam and Al Qaeda that continued after billions of Oil-for-Food dollars began pouring into Saddam's coffers and Usama bin Laden declared his infamous war on the U.S.

Now, buried in some of the United Nation's own confidential documents, clues can be seen that underscore the possibility of just such a Saddam-Al Qaeda link — clues leading to a locked door in this Swiss lakeside resort.

Be sure to catch the entire exciting article at the link, which includes this interesting tidbit:

[Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles about the U.N. Oil-for-Food program. Check back Sunday for the next installment and watch FOX's "Breaking Point" on Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT for an hour-long special on the Oil-for-Food program.]

A welcome relief from the dearth of Oil-for-Food news, of late. Kudos to Fox News for staying with this story.

(Thanks to reader "lobstertom" for the tip.)

Joseph Perkins on O.F.F. and Terrorism, "Allies"

The Joplin Globe: Saddam's friends, U.S. allies

Documents found in Saddam's Oil Ministry revealed that at least two participants in the oil-for-food program, both picked by Saddam, both approved by the United Nations, had terrorist ties.

One was a company - Galp International Trading Corp., linked to a Liechtenstein firm, ASAT Trust - that has been identified by the United Nations itself as "belonging to or affiliated with al-Qaida." The other was a Geneva-based subsidiary of a Saudi company, Delta Oil, which had close financial ties in the 1990s to the Taliban, which provided safe haven for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida in Afghanistan.

...

Given the tremendous financial stake that France, Germany and Russia had in Saddam's regime, given the compromised position in which the United Nations found itself (because it sold its integrity to Saddam), there was little prospect that the United States would win their support for the war in Iraq.

And it mattered not who was in the White House. The outcome would have been the same whether it was George W. Bush or John Kerry.

(Full article at link. Thanks to Ron Norman.)

U.S. To Shut Off Two Banks Related To Oil-For-Food Scandal

The Guardian: U.S. Takes Action Against 2 Foreign Banks

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Treasury Department took action Tuesday against two foreign banks it suspects of money laundering, including one it accused of helping Saddam Hussein use funds from the United Nations' oil-for-food program.

The department proposed to cut the banks off from the U.S. financial system. The public and other interested parties will have a chance to weigh in before final action is taken.

The department designated the First Merchant Bank of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Infobank of Belarus as ``primary money laundering concerns'' because they had not acted to combat the problem.

The designation - a tool available under the 2001 USA Patriot Act - alerts the global financial community about the alleged money laundering problems associated with the banks.

...

Treasury said Infobank ``laundered funds for the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein that were derived from schemes to circumvent the United Nations' oil-for-food program, including illegal surcharges and inflated contracts.''

These funds were then laundered through several other foreign banks and shell corporations, which were not identified, the department said in a statement. Proceeds from the illegal surcharges and inflated contracts went either to the Iraqi government - in violation of oil-for-food program provisions - or were used to buy weapons or to finance military training. Further details, including how much money was laundered, were not provided.

(Full article at link. Thanks to Ron Norman.)

Lebanese News Site Alleges Israeli Responsibility in O.F.F. Scandal

Dar al Hayat: Ayoon wa Azan (The Scandal of Oil for Food)

Once again, I will link the scandal of the Oil for Food Program, to the stance of the United Nations vis-à-vis Israel; as what has become an issue against the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the international organization, could not be isolated from the situation of the organization in general. Israel is always in the chair of accusation, or the doghouse as they say.

If there is a scandal, it is certainly not new; but raising it now is the revenge of the neo-conservative cabal, especially its horns in media and research institutes, or an attempt to tame as well as to cover-up the scandals of commissions and corruption within the program of rebuilding Iraq.

...

We could quickly cancel half of the "scandal," as Saddam Hussein has stolen, according to the claims of Israel's supporters, around $10 billion. But $5.7 billion came from selling clandestine oil, and the UN has nothing to do with it; what remains is the second half.

Half of this scandal is related to Israel, not to searching for the lost billions; my proof today is the interest of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the home of the worst neo-cons who support Israel, in the United Nations, its past, present, and future.

As Stephen The Commissar might say, "Save it for dKos." Still, interesting to see a Lebanese newspaper get in on the act, allbeit with a questionable premise.

(Full article at link)

Iraq Not Paying U.N. Dues

Asia Times: 'Broke' Iraq too poor to pay UN

NEW YORK - Iraq's US-installed interim government, which is planning to spend about US$2 billion on its military this year, has declared it is too poor to pay the $14.6 million it owes the United Nations.

"Iraq was not in a position to pay what it owed to the United Nations, although it hopes to do so next year, when oil production has increased," the interim government says in a letter to the UN Committee on Contributions, transmitted through the Iraqi mission to the UN.

...

Striking a note of sarcasm, Jim Paul of the New York-based Global Policy Forum told IPS, "The Iraqi government should perhaps ask Halliburton to help them out." The California-based US company, with ties to US Vice President Dick Cheney, received billions of dollars in Iraqi contracts, some without competitive bidding.

"The fact of the matter is that paying your annual dues to the United Nations is of symbolic importance, even though the amount is ridiculously small," added Paul. He said that Iraq's excuse to not pay its dues is perhaps a message it wants to convey to the UN: "You guys did not go along with the United States and the United Kingdom" on the invasion of Iraq, "and now you don't have even your people in Iraq because of security reasons."

"It is a way of sticking its finger in the eye of the United Nations," Paul said. In effect, the Iraqi government is saying: "The United Nations is not one of our priorities. With all the billions of dollars US taxpayers are spending on Iraq, the $14 million should be peanuts."

If Mr. Paul is correct, it is also quite possible that the Iraqi government may have the Oil-For-Food scandal on their list, as well. One wonders what future Iraqi-U.N. relations will be like.

(Full article at link. Thanks to Ron Norman, who caught this when it slipped past me.)

Fox News Has A New List of O.F.F. Names

Two exclusive stories from Fox News...

Saddam's List of Preferred Companies

NEW YORK — Saddam Hussein and his regime chose hundreds of foreign companies to do business with under the United Nation's oil-for-food program. Investigators believe the companies were selected because they or their governments were willing to back Saddam against international isolation and sanctions.

The list of the foreign companies approved by Saddam, obtained exclusively by FOX News, spells out that Russian and Saudi Arabian companies were the big winners in the scheme, which was beset by bribes and kickbacks:

— 109 Saudi Arabian companies are listed on a document titled Exempted Arab and Foreign Companies for importing all items. One Saudi company is described as a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

— 33 Russian companies are listed. One of those is further broken down into 250 company names, possibly subsidiaries.

...

There are no American companies listed, and only a few Western European companies, but the lists are not necessarily complete. For example, the French were known to be heavily involved in the oil-for-food program but no French names appear on the list. Investigators also point out that many of the names on this list may simply be front companies.

How Did U.N. Oil-for-Food Program Work?

NEW YORK — A list of the foreign companies approved by Saddam Hussein to do business under the United Nation's oil-for-food program doesn't just name names — it also provides insight into how the system worked.

The list, obtained exclusively by FOX News, appears to show that the United Nations, which was supposed to monitor every contract, either didn't know what was going on or turned a blind eye to a system of alleged bribes and kickbacks.

Here's how the system is thought to have operated: Saddam and his top officials would select contractors to supply humanitarian and other goods. The regime routinely would use this power to reward companies or nations that backed Saddam and argued against sanctions. The selected companies then won the privilege of becoming the dictator's preferred business partners.

But the companies didn't need to actually supply the goods they'd won the contract for. They could act as middlemen, take the contract to another company and sell it for a healthy profit. Russian and Saudi Arabian companies were the big winners in the scheme, according to the list of companies obtained by FOX News.

There is no raw data at this time, nor any indication that this may be the release referred to by Iraqi newspaper Al-Sabah Al-Jadid, which would seem to be unlikely given that the list was promised to Iraqi media, and Fox News is claiming an exclusive on this story. We'll keep you posted, as always.

(Full articles at link.)

Feds Follow Surprising Money Trail

New York Times: Lockboxes, Iraqi Loot and a Trail to the Fed

WHEN a United States Army sergeant broke through a false wall in a small building in Baghdad on a Friday afternoon a little over a year ago, he discovered more than three dozen sealed boxes containing about $160 million in neatly bundled $100 bills.

Later that day, soldiers found more cash in other hideaways near the Tigris River, in an exclusive neighborhood that elite members of Saddam Hussein's government once called home. By the end of the evening, they had amassed 164 metal boxes, all riveted shut, that held about $650 million in shrink-wrapped greenbacks. The cash was so heavy, and so valuable, that the Army needed a C-130 Hercules cargo plane to airlift it to a secure location.

Just two days later, on Sunday, April 20, 2003, Thomas C. Baxter, head of the legal unit of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, read a brief news account of the discovery. Most of the money that turned up in Baghdad was new, bore sequential serial numbers and was stored with documents indicating that it had once been held in Iraq's central bank. One fact particularly bothered Mr. Baxter: the money had markings from three Fed banks, including his own in New York.

Iraq, of course, had been subject to more than a decade of trade sanctions by the United States and the United Nations, so large piles of dollars, especially new bills, were not supposed to have found their way to Baghdad.

"How could that happen?" Mr. Baxter thought to himself, as he recalled later in Senate testimony. "Not only with U.S. sanctions, but with U.N. sanctions. How could that happen?"

Mr. Baxter and the New York Fed, along with the Treasury Department and the Customs Service, immediately began an investigation into Baghdad's currency stockpile. The continuing inquiry offers a rudimentary road map of illicit dealings - including lucrative oil smuggling - in Iraq and neighboring countries during the Hussein years, the federal authorities say.

(Full 4-page article at link.)

Al Wasel & Babel

The US Treasury identified Al Wasel & Babel as one of eight front companies set up by the former Iraqi regime.

From the official Al Wasel & Babel - Lootah Group Of Companies website:

Al Wasel & Babel member of LOOTAH GROUP OF COMPANIES was established in 1999 is primarily involved in bidding for tenders in Iraq and operating from own offices in Baghdad & Basra. Currently working with government of Iraq(GOI) under UN sponsored "Oil for Food program".
Al Wasel and Al Babel company proved itself powerfully as one of the pioneering trading companies which eventually win many contracts in association with the understanding memorandum between Iraq and the U.N.

"Lootah Group?" It almost sounds like a joke or a gag name. What's their email address? Alibaba@40thieves.com?

US Treasury Names Eight Front Companies

JS-1331: Treasury Designates Front Companies, Corrupt
Officials Controlled by Saddam Hussein's Regime

Treasury Designates Front Companies, Corrupt
Officials Controlled by Saddam Hussein’s Regime

In a joint effort with the United Kingdom, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated a worldwide group of front companies and individuals that were procuring weapons, skimming funds, operating for the Iraqi Intelligence Service, and doing business in support of the fallen Saddam Hussein regime.

“We are unmasking the financial façade of the former Iraqi regime. Hussein and his cronies used a global network of agents and businesses to pilfer from the Iraqi people and to underwrite their tyranny,” said Juan Zarate, the Treasury Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.

Today’s action is against eight front companies of the former Iraqi regime and five associated individuals. The United States is submitting the names of these companies and individuals to the United Nations with the recommendation they be listed by the 1518 Committee under U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1483. Today’s action is taken pursuant to Executive Order 13315. Three of these front companies and one of the individuals were previously designated by the Treasury Department.

UNSCR 1483 requires U.N. member states to identify, freeze and transfer to the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) assets of senior officials of the former Iraqi regime and their immediate family members, including entities owned or controlled by them or by persons acting on their behalf. In addition, assets of the previous Government of Iraq or its state bodies, corporations or agencies located outside of Iraq before May 22, 2003, must also be transferred to the DFI for reconstruction, administration and humanitarian assistance.

The Department of the Treasury is taking these steps to help the international community identify Iraqi assets connected to the designated entities. Treasury is also encouraging other countries to undertake independent investigations to identify other Iraqi-related assets, publish similar listings and return identified funds to the DFI.

“The Bush Administration will continue to unravel Saddam’s financial web with the help of our allies and partners. The world should know that we will not tire in our efforts to hold the Hussein regime accountable for its corruption and to return Iraq’s money to the Iraqi people,” Zarate continued.

The Treasury Department took action today against:

AL-WASEL AND BABEL GENERAL TRADING LLC
Information available to the U.S. indicates Al Wasel and Babel was controlled by, and acted for or on behalf of, senior officials of the former Iraqi regime, including Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi. Al-Azzawi has been named by the United Nations as a senior official of the former Iraq regime on the list established pursuant to UNSCR 1483.

Much of this information was developed during an investigation by U.S. authorities on Al Wasel and Babel’s attempts to procure a sophisticated surface-to-air missile system for Iraq.

Other information developed by the U.S. Government indicates Al Wasel and Babel played a key role in the former Iraqi regime’s schemes to obtain illicit kickbacks on goods purchased through the U.N. Oil-for-Food (OFF) Program.

Addresses
Ibrahim Saeed Lootah Building, Al Ramool Street
P.O. Box 10631 & 638
Rashidiya, Dubai
UAE

Lootah Building, Airport Road
Rashidiya, Dubai
UAE

Al Wasel and Babel – Iraqi Offices
Harasiya area, Baghdad
Iraq

Individuals
Hikmat Jarjes Bahnam
a.k.a. Hikmat Gargees
Baghdad, Iraq

Tarik Nasser S. Al Obaidi
a.k.a. Tarik al-‘Ubaydi
a.k.a. Tariq al-‘Ubaydi
Baghdad, Iraq

AL-HUDA STATE COMPANY FOR RELIGIOUS TOURISM
Al-Huda served as a commercial front for the Iraqi Intelligence Service, an agency of the former Iraqi regime. Al-Huda, which held a monopoly over the provision, transportation and other tourism services to Iranian pilgrims visiting the Shi’ite shrines in Iraq, skimmed lucrative amounts off tour packages and directed the funds to the regime’s coffers. Estimates show this skimming racked up as much as $500 million each year for the regime.

a.k.a.
Al-Huda for Religious Tourism Company
Al-Hoda State Company for Religious Tourism
Al-Hoda for Religious Tourism Company

Address
Iraq

AVIATRANS ANSTALT
Aviatrans Anstalt was established to manage assets of the former regime and its senior officials. This Liechtenstein–based company was reportedly the registered owner and manager of a Falcon-50 jet, which was purchased by the former Iraqi regime with Iraqi Air Force funds and used to transport senior Iraqi government officials.

a.k.a.
Aviatrans Establishment

Address
Ruggell, Liechtenstein

LOGARCHEO S.A.
Logarcheo was established to manage assets of the former regime and its senior officials. Logarcheo is reportedly the owner and manager of real estate in France that is ultimately owned by Saddam Hussein.

a.k.a.
Locarcheo AG

Address
Chemin du Carmel
1661 Le Paquier-Montbarry
Switzerland

MIDCO FINANCIAL, S.A.
Midco’s president, administrator and authorized signatory Khalaf Al-Dulaymi was also a director of investments for the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

a.k.a.
Midco Finance, S.A.

Address
Switzerland

MONTANA MANAGEMENT, INC.
Khalaf Al-Dulaymi, also associated with Midco Financial, was a principal of Montana Management, which reportedly owned substantial shares of stock in one or more French firms on behalf of senior officials of the former Iraqi regime.

Address
Panama

Individuals
Khalaf M. M. Al-Dulaymi
a.k.a. Khalaf Al-Dulaimi

Adnan S. Hasan Ahmed
a.k.a. Hasan Ahmed S. Adnan
a.k.a. Ahmed Sultan
Amman, Jordan

AL-ARABI TRADING COMPANY
Al-Arabi is the ultimate holding company for a variety of Iraqi front companies that engaged in military procurement for the former regime. Al-Arabi owns 99 percent of the UK-incorporated company Technology and Development Group Limited (TDG), which in turn owns TMG Engineering Limited. TDG and TMG were involved in Iraq’s arms procurement network during the late 1980s.

Addresses
Hai Babil
Lane 11, Distrcit 929
Baghdad, Iraq

Hai Al-Wahda
Lane 15, Area 902
Office 10
Baghdad, Iraq

P.O. Box 2337
Alwiyad
Baghdad, Iraq

AL-BASHAIR TRADING COMPANY
Al-Bashair, directed by Munir Al-Qubaysi, reportedly acted as the largest of Iraq’s arms procurement front companies and was involved in a range of sanctions busting and corruption schemes on behalf of the regime. Al-Bashair reported directly to the Organization of Military Industrialization, which was responsible for Iraq’s military procurement programs and was headed by former Deputy Prime Minister Abd-al-Tawab Mullah Huwaysh. Huwaysh has been named by the U.N. as a senior official of the former Iraq regime on the list established pursuant to UNSCR 1483.

Reporting based on documents removed from Al-Bashair’s headquarters describes a variety of deals involving sham contracts, kickbacks, falsified export documentation and money laundering designed to deceive U.N. inspectors and deliver, among other things, missile components, surveillance equipment and tank barrels to the former Iraqi regime. The company also allegedly helped seniors officials of the former regime launder and hide Iraqi government funds.

a.k.a.
Al-Bashaer Trading Company, LTD
Al-Bashir Trading Company, LTD
Al-Basha’ir Trading Company, LTD
Al-Bashaair Trading Company, LTD

Address
Al-Ani Building, Sadoon Street
First Floor
Baghdad Iraq

Individual
Munir Al-Qubaysi
a.k.a. Munir Al-Kubaysi
a.k.a. Muneer Al-Kubaisi
a.k.a. Munir Mamduh Awad
a.k.a. Munir A. Awad
Syria

Midco Financial, Montana Management, Al-Arabi Trading Company and the individual Khalaf Al-Dulaymi were designated by the Treasury Department in the early 1990s as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) of Iraq. The United States is submitting the names to the U.N. today in order to speed the transfer to the DFI of assets that remain in these entities’ names in other jurisdictions.

MEMRI: Egyptian Recipients

Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 164

Egypt

Abd Al-Adhim Manaf (6 million barrels), the owner and editor of The Voice of the Arabs (Sawt Al-Arab), and a member of parliament, offered to show evidence that he had been offered oil vouchers, but had refused them. [15]

Muhammad Shatta (14 million barrels) maintained that he served as an agent for two international petroleum companies and that all his transactions were under the Oil for Food Program. He said there was small-scale smuggling of oil of 3000 barrels at a time by small merchants, but did not explain how the smuggling was related to the vouchers he received.

Khaled Abd Al-Nasser, the son of the late Egyptian president Gamal Abd Al-Nasser, (16.5 million barrels), could not be reached by the Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Youssef because all his phones "were out of order." However, the weekly cites a number of instances of Abd Al-Nasser's involvement in activities for solidarity with Iraq.

Egyptian MP Imad Al-Gilda (14 million barrels) denied receiving any vouchers. Roz Al-Youssefreported that there were rumors before the war that Al-Gilda was "part of the Iraqi propaganda machine."

Mahmoud Mahdi Al-Ma'sarawi (7 million barrels) attributes the inclusion of his and other names on the list to their stand against U.S. actions in Iraq.

Muhammad Hilmi (4.5 million barrels), who named his son Saddam, said he would be proud if his son would be another Saddam Hussein. [16] Otherwise, he denied the allegation.

It is noteworthy that Egyptian activist Mamdouh El-Sheikh filed suit in May 2003 against several Egyptian politicians and journalists, accusing them of accepting bribes from Saddam which violated Egyptian law. [17]

[15] Al-Qahira (Egypt), February 3, 2004.

[16] Al-Ahram Al-Arabi (Egypt), May 24, 2003.

[17] Jamal Halaby, United Press International, January 28, 2004.

Abd Al-Majid Al-Attar

Mr. Attar (Abdulmajid Attar)¹ is an Algerian oil executive. From 1996 to 2000, he was the main negotiator with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil as a director of international projects and later the chairman and CEO of the Algerian Sonatrach company.

Within days of the publication of the list of 270 by Al-Mada, Mr. Attar published this denial in the London-based Arabic newspaper, Al-Hayat.

Personally, I oppose every Iraqi side [ed. "I deny every Iraqi partisan"] that is trying to assert that Saddam offered oil coupons. As for the list, every individual or company mentioned has its own credibility, and hence, I should state the following information:

From 1996 to 2000, I was the main negotiator with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil as a director of international projects and later the chairman and CEO of the Algerian Sonatrach company. I was conducting negotiations of important contracts related to developing the Tuba oilfield.

The negotiations were held with the biggest international oil companies and it was a very important project for Sonatrach. In addition, some American companies were encouraging us to negotiate by presenting offers to participate in the project after lifting the sanctions.

All during these years of negotiations, and within the oil-for-food program, Sonatrach participated in marketing a part of the Iraqi oil. Hence, we were allocated an oil share like the other oil companies, including the American ones through Sonatrach's branch in London, under the supervision of the UN, and not directly with Iraqis.

This might be the reason why we were called to organize humanitarian activities in the favor of the Iraqi people and we sent food, medical equipment and medicines. In addition, we supervised the training of around 60 Iraqi oil engineers in Algeria, opened an office in Baghdad and contributed to the organization of trips for the companies' chairmen in order to follow the implementation of the oil-for-food program.

What happened after 2000?

Personally, I was not at Sonatrach at the time, for I was the chairman of a group of production companies. We kept on carrying out economic activities in Iraq by sending humanitarian aids and organizing trips. Thus, we were able, until 2000, to preserve Algerian presence in the Iraqi market, mostly thanks to the state of Algeria.

In 2000, it became difficult to sign contracts and even Sonatrach withdrew from the Iraqi market and froze its negotiations. However, Algeria held official contacts with the Iraqi side in order to preserve the tight relations between both countries. It suggested solutions and I personally introduced other companies to the Iraqi market after the withdrawal of Sonatrach. However, neither these companies nor myself received presents from Saddam. All transactions were handled by the UN. It should be mentioned that a large share of the revenues was allocated to humanitarian aid in Iraq.

Hence, one cannot regret humanitarian aids he contributed to, because they were meant to serve the Iraqi people and not Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi president gave us no gifts but some ministers used to consider us a priority in the market.

... more at link

¹Note the two perfectly acceptable, but different in English, transliterations of his name.