IRAQ: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his family took about $1 billion from the Iraqi central bank shortly before the start of the US invasion, the State Department said yesterday.
Spokesman Mr Richard Boucher said US Treasury Department officials in Baghdad had reported the withdrawal to Washington and the United States was trying to hunt down the money.
"We do know from Treasury Department officials in Baghdad that approximately $1 billion dollars was taken from the Iraqi central bank by Saddam and his family just prior to the start of combat," Mr Boucher said.
The New York Times first reported the massive cash withdrawal.
It said Saddam's son Qusay and a close associate took $900 million in US bills and €100 million in three tractor trailers.
Mr Boucher said the US did not know where the money had gone but he noted that US troops had found stacks of dollar bills in various locations in Iraq, including about $600 million in Saddam Hussein's palaces, and $100 million and €90 million in an armoured vehicle.
"We are working to hunt down the assets that were stolen by the regime of Saddam Hussein. We'll actively follow up on all the leads. All these assets are the property of the Iraqi people and should be returned to them," he said.
"We'll continue to encourage other governments to take appropriate measures if any of these assets show up anywhere, to track down and freeze the ill-gotten gains of Saddam Hussein and his family," he added.
The New York Times cited an Iraqi official for its report and said that Saddam himself had signed the withdrawal order.
Qusay, the deposed leader's second son, and one of the president's personal assistants, Mr Abid al-Hamid Mahmood, carried a letter from Saddam authorising the transaction, it said.
"When you get an order from Saddam Hussein, you do not discuss it," an unidentified Iraqi official who held a senior position in the bank told the newspaper. - (Reuters)