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IGC member sez Sammyâs stash is $40 billion
Saddam Hussein withdrew $2 billion from Iraqi banks last spring, including a sizable withdrawal a week after the fall of Baghdad, according to a member of the Iraq Governing Council. Dr. Iyad Allawi -- in an interview with CNN Tuesday -- elaborated on reports published Monday in two Arabic newspapers on what he says interrogators are learning from Saddam since his capture earlier this month. Allawi said the governing council has possession of documents signed by the former Iraqi dictator two weeks before the war began authorizing the bank withdrawal. It was unclear how the money was taken from the bank after coalition troops took Baghdad. Allawi said Saddam admitted he invested stolen Iraqi money -- which the Iraq Governing Council estimates at $40 billion -- in Switzerland, Japan and Germany, among others, under fictitious company names. Saddamâs confession also included the names of people involved in terrorist attacks against coalition forces, Allawi said. He said hundreds of Iraqis have surrendered in the days since Saddamâs capture because they knew he had given interrogators their names. The council member earlier told Arabic dailies Asharq Al-Awsat and Al-Hayat that Saddam had revealed the names of those who knew the locations of weapon arsenals that were being used to attack coalition troops. Allawi, who is heading security issues at the Iraqi council, estimated the number of foreign fighters in Iraq at more than 5,000, including some al Qaeda members. He said coalition officials keep governing council members updated on the revelations from their interrogation of Saddam. Allawi said although Saddamâs confessions have covered a number of important issues, he canât yet discuss what has been said about weapons of mass destruction. Allawi was quoted by the Arabic papers saying, "Saddam Husseinâs trial would not be public since he could name countries and persons whom he gave money." In Baghdad Tuesday, Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor would not comment on Allawiâs claims, referring reportersâ questions to the governing council. Saddam surrendered to U.S. troops December 13 from the bottom of Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-12-31 |
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