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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (1265)	5/20/2003 7:38:27 AM
From: KyrosL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793838

U.S. and Its Allies Have Found $1.2 Billion of Hussein's Assets By MICHAEL SCHROEDER Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WASHINGTON -- The U.S. and its allies have located $1.2 billion of assets controlled by Saddam Hussein's regime that could be used to help rebuild war-torn Iraq, according to a Treasury Department spokesman. The Treasury won't provide details about which countries are holding the newly found assets, which include currency, real estate and diamonds held in the names of entities controlled by Mr. Hussein and senior members of his government. But the money probably will be used to pay Iraqi salaries and pensions, as well as to provide humanitarian aid, the spokesman said. The assets are in addition to the $1.74 billion of frozen Iraqi government bank accounts that the U.S. confiscated last month at President Bush's order and another $600 million in already-frozen Iraqi assets to benefit the Iraqi people -- including $400 million in Britain, $85 million in the Bahamas, $20 million in the Cayman Islands and $14 million in Japan. Treasury Secretary John Snow is using powers granted by the Patriot Act, passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist hijackings, to press other nations to freeze and, where local law allows, to seize Iraqi assets. If those nations refuse, the U.S. essentially can block banks from those nations from doing business in the U.S. A Treasury spokesman said several countries are cooperating. United Nations members have been required to freeze all Iraqi assets in their countries under sanctions imposed against Iraq in 1990. The Bush administration wants to use those assets to rebuild Iraq, which is likely to cost tens of billions of dollars annually for the next few years. The Swiss government Wednesday directed its banks to freeze at least $334 million held or controlled by the Iraqi government and Iraq-based companies. The directive makes it compulsory for banks to block access to the accounts and report them to the government. The move aims to make it easier to transfer the assets to Iraqi citizens once the war has ended, the Swiss government said. Britain also pledged to take steps to use frozen assets to help Iraqis once military action ends. The U.S. believes there are billions more in Iraqi funds that haven't yet been identified. The U.S. General Accounting Office has estimated that Mr. Hussein and his family and friends have netted about $6.6 billion from smuggled oil and other means. The Treasury estimates Mr. Hussein spent $2 billion alone on 48 palaces in Iraq.