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4moreyears
05-16-2005, 05:57 AM
Oil-for-food aided Russians, report says
Iraq sought to influence U.N. through Moscow
By Justin Blum and Colum Lynch
Updated: 11:09 p.m. ET May 15, 2005

Top Kremlin operatives and a flamboyant Russian politician reaped millions of dollars in profits under the U.N. oil-for-food program by selling oil that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein allowed them to buy at a deep discount, a Senate investigation has concluded.

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The allegations -- which also include descriptions of kickbacks paid to Hussein -- are detailed in hundreds of pages of reports and documents made public last night by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in advance of a hearing tomorrow.

The documents outline a trail of oil and money that leads directly from Iraq to the Kremlin and the former chief of staff to Russian President Vladimir Putin and former president Boris Yeltsin. The report said Iraq sought to influence and reward the Russian government because it sits on the powerful U.N. Security Council that oversaw sanctions against the Hussein government. Russia repeatedly sided with Iraq on issues before the Security Council.


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Yevgeniy V. Khorishko, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington, said it had received the Senate reports but could not yet discuss the findings. "We are looking into them," Khorishko said. "It's too early to give any comment."

A CIA report last year said that Hussein granted top political leaders from around the world the opportunity to buy Iraqi oil at a discount. But the Senate report presents more detailed evidence, alleging that Russian officials took up the offer and profited handsomely under the program.

In addition, the reports allege that Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, several Russian entities and a Houston-based oil trading company, Bayoil, "paid millions of dollars in illegal, under-the-table surcharges to the Hussein regime in connection with these oil transactions." U.S. officials say Hussein used illicit proceeds from oil sales to buy weapons, among other things.

‘Curry political favor’
"This is the way Saddam used oil-for-food: to line his own pocket and curry political favor," said Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), chairman of the investigations subcommittee that released the reports.

Iraq's U.N. ambassador, Feisal Amin Istrabadi, said Russia was one of dozens of countries that took advantage of Iraq's oil wealth. "There were certainly commercial and political interests involved, and Russia behaved like any other state in looking after itself," he said.

The documents were provided to reporters Friday on the condition that articles about them not be published until today.

These are the latest allegations dealing with the scandal-plagued U.N. program established in December 1996 to provide Iraq a partial exemption from international economic sanctions, allowing it to sell oil to buy food, medicine and humanitarian goods.

The program succeeded in limiting Hussein's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and improved humanitarian conditions for ordinary Iraqis. But it provided an economic lifeline for Hussein, who siphoned off more than $2 billion in illicit profits by charging kickbacks to companies that traded with Baghdad, U.S. investigators have said. The problems have caused some U.S. lawmakers, including Coleman, to call for the ouster of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

While the latest disclosures do not directly implicate Annan, they are likely to contribute to the perception that he mismanaged the United Nations' largest humanitarian program.

Under the program, Iraq bypassed traditional oil traders, giving influential businessmen, politicians, dignitaries and terrorist groups the right to buy millions of barrels of oil, U.S. investigators have said. These individuals would then sell their rights at a profit of 3 cents to 30 cents a barrel to oil traders supplying major refineries in the United States, Europe and Asia. Hussein eventually started charging a kickback of 10 cents to 50 cents a barrel, which was deposited in secret bank accounts.

The Senate documents quote an unidentified senior official in Hussein's government as saying "the whole point" of providing the allocations to individuals was to allow them to profit personally.

The Senate reports, based in part on interviews with former Iraqi officials and hundreds of pages of documents, said Russia topped the list of Security Council members whose support Hussein sought. More than 30 percent of Iraqi oil allocations ended up going to Russian officials, political parties and businessmen.

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One of the new Senate reports said Hussein granted oil allocations -- the opportunity to buy discounted oil -- to a group identified as the Russian Presidential Council, made up of advisers appointed by the Russian president to devise presidential policy, draft presidential decrees and coordinate policy among agencies.

Two people were listed as receiving allocations on the council's behalf -- Alexander Voloshin, the highly influential chief of staff to Putin and Yeltsin, who also headed the council, and Voloshin's friend and confidant Sergey Issakov.

The report said the pair hired companies to handle the transactions and estimated that they made profits of almost $3 million total between 1999 and 2003.

Voloshin, known as one of the most powerful Kremlin officials, resigned in 2003 over a scandal involving Russian oil giant Yukos.

Voloshin managed Putin's first campaign and helped to create the pro-Kremlin Unity Party. The report said the party also received oil allocations, along with the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Communist Party and the Liberal Democratic Party.

The Senate report said that Issakov was deputy chairman of Vnukovo Airlines and traveled regularly to Iraq to reestablish airline service between Moscow and Baghdad.

Profits up to $8.7 million
A second Senate report said that Zhirinovsky, a former presidential candidate who espouses an ultranationalist agenda, also received allocations that he cashed for profits of as much as $8.7 million between 1997 and 2002.

Senate investigators obtained letters signed by Zhirinovsky that discussed the oil allocations and documents from Iraq's oil ministry that linked him and his political party, the Liberal Democratic Party, to the allocations.

In 1997, Zhirinovsky wrote to Iraq's ambassador to Russia describing how his party "stood firmly against the enforcement of the United Nations economic sanctions" and had used its influence to persuade the Russian Duma, or parliament, to facilitate more economic cooperation with Iraq. It went on to request contracts under the oil-for-food program.

A spokeswoman for Zhirinovsky said he did not have any immediate comment and would respond after he has an opportunity to read the report. Voloshin did not respond to a request for comment, and Issakov could not be located for comment.

The Senate documents said Hussein personally approved the Russian oil allocations to curry favor or provide "compensation for support."

At one point, Hussein ordered that Russians be rewarded for threatening in 2000 to veto a Security Council resolution to restrict illicit trade at Iraq's borders, the Senate reports said. The veto threat killed the resolution before it was formally considered, prompting more oil allocations for Russia as well as contracts for humanitarian goods, the documents said.

The oil transactions involved a complex web of financial arrangements and middlemen, all of whom received a piece of the profits.

Bayoil played a key role in a number of transactions, the report said. The company had conducted an "aggressive campaign" to buy Iraqi oil under the oil-for-food program, but its efforts were stymied by a Hussein policy forbidding direct contracting with U.S. or British companies. Iraq also required the company that purchased the oil to be in the same country as the recipient of the allocation.

The report described cases in which Bayoil orchestrated transactions between Iraq and Zhirinovsky. The company arranged for a Russian entity to purchase the oil and, without ever taking possession, sell it to Bayoil. A letter from Bayoil described how the company paid an "agreed premium" to Zhirinovsky for his allocation.

The report also described Iraqi documents showing that surcharges, or kickbacks, amounting to more than $4 million were paid to Iraq in connection with Zhirinovsky's transactions. The documents say Bayoil "facilitated" surcharge payments of more than $2 million to Hussein.

‘Reckless accusations’
Catherine M. Recker, a lawyer for Bayoil and its founder, David B. Chalmers Jr., said she could not comment before seeing the report. "Bayoil and David Chalmers stand by their previous statement that they have done nothing illegal and will vigorously defend against these reckless accusations," Recker said in a statement.

In April, a federal grand jury in New York indicted Chalmers, his two companies -- Bayoil USA Inc. and Bayoil Supply & Trading Ltd. -- and two foreign associates on charges that they funneled millions of dollars in kickbacks through a foreign front company to an Iraqi-controlled bank account.

Told of details of the Senate reports, Russia specialists said the findings reflect deep government corruption.

"It's another piece of evidence showing how the Russian leadership operates and how corruption is endemic within the Russian leadership -- even within the highest levels," said Celeste A. Wallander, director of the Russia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7857167/page/2/

DrMaddVibe
05-16-2005, 07:02 AM
No shit?

Let me guess...France and Germany are on the dole too?

The surprises never end!

Nickdfresh
05-16-2005, 08:28 AM
Originally posted by 4moreyears
Oil-for-food aided Russians, report says
Iraq sought to influence U.N. through Moscow
By Justin Blum and Colum Lynch
Updated: 11:09 p.m. ET May 15, 2005

Top Kremlin operatives..."It's another piece of evidence showing how the Russian leadership operates and how corruption is endemic within the Russian leadership -- even within the highest levels," said Celeste A. Wallander, director of the Russia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7857167/page/2/

And all the while these bastards are investigating and prosecuting the leading Russian CEO of Yukos Oil, the biggest Russian Oil Campany, for running in an election against Putin...ere..."corruption.";)

Nickdfresh
05-16-2005, 12:41 PM
Originally posted by Nickdfresh
And all the while these bastards are investigating and prosecuting the leading Russian CEO of Yukos Oil, the biggest Russian Oil Campany, for running in an election against Putin...ere..."corruption.";)

Speak of the devil...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7871171/

Verdict begins for Russian oil tycoon

Khodorkovsky supporters say he will be found guilty
The Associated Press
Updated: 9:02 a.m. ET May 16, 2005
MOSCOW - The verdict reading in the politically charged trial Monday of oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky adjourned until Tuesday, but lawyers and supporters said they had heard enough to be certain he would be found guilty.

advertisementKhodorkovsky’s trial on charges including fraud and tax evasion has been the most intensely watched trial of post-Soviet Russia. His advocates say he is the victim of a Kremlin-directed revenge campaign to punish him for supporting opposition parties and to cut off any personal political ambitions.

The adjournment was called about three hours after the judge began reading the verdict aloud. Under the Russian legal system, the verdict is not a simple pronouncement of guilt or acquittal but a long statement of the facts of the case before the decision is stated.

Judge Irina Kolesnikova’s reading included phrases such as “lying information” and “acting as part of a criminal group” that Khodorkovsky’s lawyers saw as a sure sign that he would be found guilty.

“There is a school of thought that says they haven’t been found guilty, but the conventional wisdom is that they will be,” said John Papallardo, an American lawyer for Khodorkovsky and co-defendant Platon Lebedev.

“Judging by the episodes read it out by the court, it can be understood that the verdict carries the character of guilty,” defense lawyer Timofei Lebedev was quoted as saying by the news agency ITAR-Tass.

Hundreds of supporters and opponents of Khodorkovsky gathered behind police barricades outside the Meshchansky District Court building in Moscow. Police roughly detained some demonstrators when they refused to leave the area at the end of the time authorities had permitted for demonstrations.

Both at home and abroad, the case has raised questions about President Vladimir Putin’s commitment to the rule of law. It also has disturbed foreign investors.

Khodorkovsky faces seven charges in all, as does Lebedev.

Khodorkovsky, sitting in a courtroom cage as do defendants in all Russian trials, was dressed in a brown suede jacket and blue jeans. He smiled at family members in the courtroom and jokingly mimed to his wife to take off her sunglasses.

“The sentence for Khodorkovsky is awaited by practically all the citizens of the country. Without exaggeration, it is a signal event that will determine the direction of the country’s development for many years to come,” the Izvestia daily commented.

Khodorkovsky arrived at a hidden side entrance to the court in a van from the jail cell where he has been held for 19 months. As always, he was hustled from the van straight into the building, while a crowd of journalists and a heavier-than-usual police contingent waited outside....

More at the link.

Nitro Express
05-16-2005, 01:15 PM
Basicaly Russia, Europe, and the UN didn't want Saddam tossed out of power because top officials were making a shit load of money.

Nickdfresh
05-16-2005, 04:47 PM
Originally posted by Nitro Express
Basicaly Russia, Europe, and the UN didn't want Saddam tossed out of power because top officials were making a shit load of money.

And they didn't want to lose a shit load of money "reconstructing" our mess...


Originally posted by FORD
The Top 10 Conservative Idiots (No. 198)

6) The Bush Administration

Guess what, Republicans? You've been scammed. At the end of the Cold War, the Reagan administration requested cuts in military spending. You ought to remember that - those were the cuts that John Kerry voted for, that the Karl Rove Smear Machine ruined him with last year. During the Clinton years, military spending continued its slow decline, as per the recommendations of the previous administrations. And what did the right-wing do? Constantly whine about how Clinton was hurting the military. Then, as soon as George W. Bush came into power, well everything was hunky-dory. Here's a president who really loves the military! Never mind the cuts in veterans benefits. Never mind the cuts in combat pay. Never mind the cuts in family-separation allowances. Why, George W. Bush just loves the military. He was even good enough to send them over to Iraq where only 1600 of them have been killed so far with no end in sight. And what's Bush's latest move to demonstrate how much he loves the military? Let's ask him:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/05/198_bush.jpg
Bush: "Plane? What plane?"

Okay, I'll tell you then. Last week the Bush administration announced that they would be closing 150 military installations from Maine to Hawaii, including 33 major bases. If approved, this could lead to 26,187 lost jobs. That's how much George W. Bush loves the military. Meanwhile Donald Rumsfeld is going around bragging that these closures will save us $48.8 billion over the next 20 years - that's $2.4 billion per year. Good job. Know how long it takes us to spend $2.4 billion in Iraq? Slightly less than 14 days.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y240/Nickdfresh/Rumsfeld.jpg

Nitro Express
05-17-2005, 02:59 AM
Yeah, I think the Republican leadership managed to fuck the country up more than the Democrats would have. I stand for the small federal govt. and states rights ideal. Basically that traditionally has been the so called Republican ideal but yeah, the Republicans are sure good Democrats these days aren't they? LOL!

Mishar_McLeud
05-17-2005, 02:42 PM
Originally posted by Nickdfresh
And all the while these bastards are investigating and prosecuting the leading Russian CEO of Yukos Oil, the biggest Russian Oil Campany, for running in an election against Putin...ere..."corruption.";)
Well don't you think it would be a bit far-fetched for a guy in his 30-ies to earn $10 billions legaly because he once got papers on Yukos :)

Seshmeister
05-17-2005, 04:17 PM
This is committe is a big fucking smokescreen.

Check the other thread...

Nickdfresh
05-17-2005, 06:16 PM
Originally posted by Nitro Express
Yeah, I think the Republican leadership managed to fuck the country up more than the Democrats would have. I stand for the small federal govt. and states rights ideal. Basically that traditionally has been the so called Republican ideal but yeah, the Republicans are sure good Democrats these days aren't they? LOL!

You've got it! But the Neo Conservative ideology contains the worst aspects of both modern conservatism and liberalism.

They are old style Wilsonian Democrats with a vicious strain of militarism!