06 May 2003
U.S. Officials Help Search for $1 Billion Missing from Iraqi Central Bank
(Boucher says money belongs to Iraqi people) (660) Prior to the start of coalition military action against Iraq, former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his family took approximately $1 billion from the country's central bank, according to U.S. Treasury Department officials in Baghdad. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, speaking May 6 at the State Department briefing in Washington, said that while the whereabouts of the cash remains unknown, the United States is searching for the assets. "All of these assets are the property of the Iraqi people and should be returned to them," said Boucher, and he called upon the international community to help in the recovery. He said the Treasury Department has sent several advisors in Iraq "to try to help look into these issues and work with the Iraqis as they get their financial system back up and running." Boucher said that a large amount of cash has already been found in one of Saddam Hussein's palaces and in an armored vehicle, but said he could not confirm that the currency was from the Iraqi Central Bank. Following is an excerpt from the May 6 State Department briefing containing Boucher's comments on the missing money: (begin excerpt) QUESTION: Regarding the reports today that a large amount of money, over a billion or so, was taken from the Central Bank in Baghdad, any idea where that money might have gone? There were reports that perhaps -- and theories -- that it might have gone into Syria somehow with these large vans. Any idea where they -- where this amount of money might have gone? MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any specifics on that at this point. I would say that, you know, we do know from Treasury Department officials in Baghdad that approximately $1 billion was taken from the Iraqi Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family just prior to the start of combat operations. At this point, I don't have any more details for you here. We are working to hunt down the assets that were stolen by the regime of Saddam Hussein. We will actively follow up on all of the leads. All of these assets are the property of the Iraqi people and should be returned to them. So we will continue to encourage other governments to take appropriate measures. If they show up, any of these assets show up anywhere, to track down, to freeze the ill-gotten gains of Saddam Hussein and his family. Treasury has several advisors in the country, in Iraq, to try to help look into these issues and work with the Iraqis as they get their financial system back up and running. But at this point, we don't know where that specific cash might have ended up. QUESTION: Was this brought up with [Syrian President Bashar] Assad when the Secretary visited him? MR. BOUCHER: I am not sure this item specifically came up. Let me check and see if I can get anything on that. QUESTION: You said you heard -- learned from Treasury. Is that Iraqi Treasury officials or U.S. Treasury officials? MR. BOUCHER: U.S. Treasury officials, who are in Baghdad working with Iraqis and the Central Bank and elsewhere. QUESTION: And so their information about this came from their Iraqi counterparts, who said that Saddam's family came in and wheeled out wheelbarrows full of cash? MR. BOUCHER: That's our understanding, yes. QUESTION: Do you have any other -- MR. BOUCHER: I think -- well, you know that U.S. forces -- the number I was given was about $600 million they found in currency at Saddam's palaces. And there is $100 million in U.S. currency and 90 million Euros that were located in an armored vehicle last month. Don't know exactly where they came from, whether it was from the Central Bank or not, but that's an awful lot of cash they found already. (end excerpt) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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