http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,,2-10-1460_1356235,00.html
Washington - Members of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime and family stole nearly one billion dollars from Iraq's Central Bank shortly before the US-led invasion of Iraq began in March, the US State Department said on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Richard Boucher said US Treasury Department officials now in Baghdad learned of the theft from their Iraqi counterparts. The charges appeared to be backed up by the discovery last month of massive amounts of cash in one of Saddam's houses and inside an armoured vehicle.
"We do know from Treasury Department officials in Baghdad that approximately one billion dollars was taken from the Iraqi Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family just prior to the start of combat operations," he told reporters.
"We are working to hunt down the assets that were stolen by the regime," Boucher said. "We'll actively follow up on all the leads."
The assets "are the property of the Iraqi people and should be returned to them... but at this point we don't know where this specific cash ended up," he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, a US Treasury official confirmed a New York Times report stating that about $900m had been taken from the Iraqi Central Bank either by members of Saddam's family or his government.
According to the Times, Saddam sent his son, Qusay, to the bank's vaults to load the cash onto three tractor trailers, hours before the first US bombs rained on Baghdad.
Neither Boucher nor the Treasury official could confirm the details.
Qusay reportedly turned up at the vaults at 04:00 local time on March 18 with a letter from Saddam authorising the seizure, according to the report, in what could be the biggest bank heist in history.
Smuggled to Syria?
The money - about $900m in $100-bills and €100m - was possibly smuggled into Syria, where it disappeared, along with Qusay and Saddam's personal assistant Abid al-Hamid Mahmood, according to the Times.
"When you get an order from Saddam Hussein, you do not discuss it," an Iraqi official who asked not to be identified told the paper.
In their predawn foray at the bank, Qusay and Mahmood were accompanied by the director of the Central Bank, the Iraqi finance minister, the director of the Iraqi treasury and a group of workers who loaded the cash and the truck drivers, the official said.
Although he could not confirm these details, Boucher said the Iraqi official's allegations in the Times appeared to be credible.
He noted that US forces in Iraq had found about $700m in US currency and €90m hidden in at least two locations in the country.
About $600m in US currency was discovered in one of Saddam's houses, and another $100m, along with the €90m, was found in an armoured vehicle last month, Boucher said.
"We don't know exactly where it came from, whether it was from the Central Bank or not but that's an awful lot of cash they found out there," he said.
Washington - Members of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime and family stole nearly one billion dollars from Iraq's Central Bank shortly before the US-led invasion of Iraq began in March, the US State Department said on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Richard Boucher said US Treasury Department officials now in Baghdad learned of the theft from their Iraqi counterparts. The charges appeared to be backed up by the discovery last month of massive amounts of cash in one of Saddam's houses and inside an armoured vehicle.
"We do know from Treasury Department officials in Baghdad that approximately one billion dollars was taken from the Iraqi Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family just prior to the start of combat operations," he told reporters.
"We are working to hunt down the assets that were stolen by the regime," Boucher said. "We'll actively follow up on all the leads."
The assets "are the property of the Iraqi people and should be returned to them... but at this point we don't know where this specific cash ended up," he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, a US Treasury official confirmed a New York Times report stating that about $900m had been taken from the Iraqi Central Bank either by members of Saddam's family or his government.
According to the Times, Saddam sent his son, Qusay, to the bank's vaults to load the cash onto three tractor trailers, hours before the first US bombs rained on Baghdad.
Neither Boucher nor the Treasury official could confirm the details.
Qusay reportedly turned up at the vaults at 04:00 local time on March 18 with a letter from Saddam authorising the seizure, according to the report, in what could be the biggest bank heist in history.
Smuggled to Syria?
The money - about $900m in $100-bills and €100m - was possibly smuggled into Syria, where it disappeared, along with Qusay and Saddam's personal assistant Abid al-Hamid Mahmood, according to the Times.
"When you get an order from Saddam Hussein, you do not discuss it," an Iraqi official who asked not to be identified told the paper.
In their predawn foray at the bank, Qusay and Mahmood were accompanied by the director of the Central Bank, the Iraqi finance minister, the director of the Iraqi treasury and a group of workers who loaded the cash and the truck drivers, the official said.
Although he could not confirm these details, Boucher said the Iraqi official's allegations in the Times appeared to be credible.
He noted that US forces in Iraq had found about $700m in US currency and €90m hidden in at least two locations in the country.
About $600m in US currency was discovered in one of Saddam's houses, and another $100m, along with the €90m, was found in an armoured vehicle last month, Boucher said.
"We don't know exactly where it came from, whether it was from the Central Bank or not but that's an awful lot of cash they found out there," he said.
