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Switzerland Investigates Trading Companies

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By Marc Roche

Le Monde
January 31, 2004


Eleven Swiss companies are suspected of having made bribes to obtain contracts.

"Iraqi Oil Pollutes Switzerland" the headline for the January 30 edition of the daily "Geneva Tribune" proclaims. The inquiry Switzerland has opened on the eleven Swiss companies accused by the Iraqi Oil Minister of having received millions of barrels of oil from Saddam Hussein once again throws some light onto the mysterious intrigues of black gold traders.

The eleven oil-trading companies that figure on the list published by the Baghdad daily "Al-Mada" are targeted by a judicial inquiry recently launched by Switzerland's State Secretary for the Economy (SECO). Medea, Delta Services, Iblom, Sepool, Klinko, Lakia, Alkon, Taurus Petroleum, Petrogaz, Fenar and Napkes have been named.

"The targeted companies would not have received barrels of oil, but would have paid bribes to the Iraqi regime to accede to oil contracts. Should it turn out that they were paid under the table, then we will enter into judicial proceedings against them for violation of the UN embargo," explains Othmar Wyss, the official in charge of international commerce at SECO.

According to him, five of the eleven companies- whose names he refuses to divulge- had been authorized by Berne to buy Iraqi oil through the "Oil for Food" program put in place between 1996 and 2002 to alleviate the impact of international sanctions on the Iraqi population. The Swiss embassy in Baghdad has been charged with obtaining additional information from the Iraqi Oil Ministry, the source of these allegations, which target 270 foreign people, companies, and associations from about forty countries. They are accused of having received millions of barrels of oil in exchange for their support of the Iraqi regime.

Liquidation of Brokers

To this day, the SECO has only been able to identify half of the companies in question. The investigation is proving to be extremely complex. The spelling and translation from Arab of the names of the entities in question is often approximate. The supporting documents come not from the Iraqi Oil Ministry, but from SOMO, the hydrocarbon marketing organization and fief of the ex-dictator, the files of which were pillaged after the fall of Baghdad.

"It's insane to see how many oil broker liquidations there have been since Saddam's fall. These companies come into being and disappear without a trace. The names change constantly. They alter the corporate name to abandon the debts to their creditors and confuse the trail. In Geneva, traders often hide behind corporate fiduciaries or auditors," explains a Geneva observer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Thus, Delta Services SA was liquidated following bankruptcy proceedings in 2001 and erased from the Geneva commercial register. Its vague mission was to supply "services and advice, especially in financial and accounting management". Its administrators were two Swiss nationals, Tariq and Patricia Mohsen, and a Saudi.

Taurus Petroleum, which transferred its headquarters last year from Geneva to the fiscal paradise of Saint-Kitts-and-Nevis in the British Antilles, also figures on the list. "The Swiss company was created January 1, 2003; consequently well after the events in question. We are linked to the oil trading company Taurus, which worked in Iraq in the framework of the ‘Oil for Food' program," indicates Maurice Taylor, the firm's administrator, who was the first Swiss trader to buy Iraqi oil after Baghdad's fall. Another name cited, Petrogaz Distribution, like all the others, denies all allegations.

Founded in 1999 in Geneva, specialized, according to its statutes, in oil product import and export, Lakia SARL is controlled today by two Russian businessmen, Gavi and Zalimkhan Lougouev. They cannot be reached. For unknown reasons, the Russian state company Rosneft withdrew from Lakia in 2000. Finally, according to certain sources, Klinko, the main beneficiary of Saddam's largesse, is only a screen for Glencore. The latter, one of the world's largest commodity traders, rejects the Iraqi newspaper's assertions "with the greatest firmness".

Switzerland, where numerous trading companies have their operational headquarters, was at the heart of a contraband system the former president put in place to bypass the embargo imposed by the UN in 1990.

Hundreds of millions of barrels "brought out" illegally from Iraq were traded and exchanged in complete discretion in Geneva, Zug, Lugano or Freiberg. This gold mine fed the dictator's personal cash register and his clan's right up to the end. For tax evasion purposes, oil trading companies are usually domiciled in fiscal paradises such as the Antilles, Luxembourg, or Liechtenstein.


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FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.