SwiftVets.com

[USAFE5]

House Panel Questions Role of French Bank
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers are questioning whether a French bank failed to comply with U.S. money-laundering laws, possibly helping Saddam Hussein manipulate the $60 billion U.N. oil-for-food program. The bank denies any wrongdoing.
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"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I’m here to help." Ronald Reagan

[LewWaters]

Could you provide a link for the rest of this? Thanks
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Clark County Conservative

[USAFE5]

It was a headline on my Earthlink home page - I don't know how to make a link to that. It is also on Fox's site.
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"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I’m here to help." Ronald Reagan

[GIaunt]

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/10206206.htm?1c

Went to Google and searched on:
French +bank +"Oil for Food" +laundering

there are several references given, this was the top of the list and it seems to match....

[Rdtf]

http://start.earthlink.net/newsarticle?cat=8&aid=D86DAVL80_story

Probe: Iraq U.N. Cash Sent to Bombers' Kin
By DESMOND BUTLER
The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 16, 2004; 6:28 PM

NEW YORK - Saddam Hussein diverted money from the U.N. oil-for-food program
to pay millions of dollars to families of Palestinian suicide bombers who
carried out attacks on Israel, say congressional investigators who uncovered
evidence of the money trail.

The former Iraqi president tapped secret bank accounts in Jordan - where he
collected bribes from foreign companies and individuals doing illicit
business under the humanitarian program - to reward the families up to
$25,000 each, investigators told The Associated Press.

Documents prepared for a Wednesday hearing by the House International
Relations Committee outline the new findings about how Saddam funneled money
to the Palestinian families.

Investigators examining the oil-for-food program felt it was "important for
us to determine whether the profits from his corruption were put toward
terrorist purposes," committee chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., said of Saddam's
well-known financial support of suicide bombers.

Wednesday's hearing, however, will focus on a French bank that handled most
of the money for the program. An audit by a U.S. regulatory agency of a
small sample of transactions out of the $60 billion U.N. escrow account
managed by BNP-Paribas has raised serious questions concerning the bank's
compliance with U.S. money laundering laws, the investigators said.

"There are indications that the bank may have been noncompliant in
administering the oil-for-food program," Hyde said in his statement to AP.
"If, true these possible banking lapses may have facilitated Saddam
Hussein's manipulation and corruption of the program."

While acknowledging that U.S. regulators have raised routine issues with BNP
on compliance with banking laws, a lawyer for BNP said Hyde's statement was
unfair to the bank.

"No departure from any standard caused or contributed in any way to the
abuse at the oil-for-food program," the bank's lead council Robert S.
Bennett said. "There are simply no connections."

The humanitarian program that let Iraq trade oil for goods was set up in
1996 to help Iraqis get food, medicine and other items that had been scarce
under strict U.N. economic sanctions imposed after the Gulf War. But
investigators say Saddam made more than $21.3 billion in illegal revenue
under the program as well as by evading the sanctions for more than a
decade.

Iraq had thousands of secret bank accounts throughout the world, including
over 1,500 in Jordan. Money from kickbacks on oil-for-food deals, illegal
oil payments from the Jordanian government and other illicit funds were paid
into accounts held by a Jordanian branch of the Iraqi government owned
Rafidain Bank, investigators said.

According to employees of the Iraqi Central Bank and the Rafidain Bank, the
former Iraqi ambassador to Jordan, Sabah Yassen, personally withdrew money
from the accounts to make payments ranging from $15,000 to $25,000 to the
families of Palestinian suicide bombers, Hyde said.

Palestinians had perceived Saddam as one of their staunchest supporters.
Palestinians have said before that Saddam gave payments of more than $35
million to families of Palestinians killed or wounded in the conflict with
Israel that began in September 2000. During the four-year conflict,
Palestinians have carried out 117 suicide bombings, killing 494 Israelis and
others.

At Wednesday's hearing, Hyde's panel will question two BNP executives. The
panel also plans to transfer documents for a possible investigation to the
House Committee on Financial Services.

BNP held the sole escrow account through which all of the more than $60
billion of Iraqi oil revenues generated through the program flowed while the
program was in place from 1996 to 2003.

BNP also wrote letters of credit for deals for the import of humanitarian
goods which were approved by the United Nations and paid for out of the
escrow account.

The investigators said that evidence from documents subpoenaed from BNP in
July and received from U.S. regulatory agencies suggests that the French
bank - which has New York offices - failed to comply with anti-money
laundering laws passed under the U.S. Patriot Act in 2001.

"Evidence seems to indicate that in some cases, payments in the oil-for-food
program were made by BNP at times with a lack of full proof of delivery for
goods and other necessary documents contracted for in the oil-for-food
program," Hyde said.

Investigators also said that they had evidence that BNP illegally allowed
letters of credit, or payments for import deals to be transferred to third
parties.

BNP denied the allegations.

"It must be understood that the bank did not have any responsibilities to do
due diligence regarding third parties," Bennett said. "Our only client and
customer here was the United Nations."

The U.N. Security Council had to approve all the deals under the
oil-for-food program, Bennett said.

"This was an enhanced protection from the banks perspective," he said. "It
was not our job to second guess the decisions of the Security Council."

[USAFE5]

Thank you all for your help in posting this properly. IB - thanks for the instructions too.
_________________
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I’m here to help." Ronald Reagan