British engineer slain in Alps had ties to Saddam Hussein: report
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Saad al-Hilli’ was killed along with his wife, his
mother-in-law and a French cyclist in in the Alps last month. (Photo
courtesy the Daily Mail)
The father of a British engineer who was murdered along with his wife, his mother-in-law and a French cyclist in in the Alps last month had received $1.3 million from ousted and later hanged Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, German intelligence agency BND has discovered, according to French newspaper Le Monde.
“According to a French police source, the German secret service informed the gendarmerie’s anti-terrorist branch that there were links between the al-Hilli family and Saddam Hussein’s fortune,” the newspaper has reported.
“The tensions began after Saad Aal-Hilli’s father [Kadhim] was struck off the list of beneficiaries of the former Iraqi dictator,” Le Monde added.
After his father’s death, Saad , who lives in Claygate, Surrey, was able to get his hands on his father’s money and restricted his brother Zaid, who lives in nearby Chessington, from gaining any access to the father’s will, according to the report.
An intelligence source was quoted as saying that the German spy agency rousingly monitored the flow of cash between Berlin and Baghdad because did business with Saddam more than any other country.
“They know the money trail, and they know how to follow it. They have spent decades monitoring money transactions between the West and Iraq. The BND is the first port of call in such circumstances,” an intelligence official said, according to the report.
The BND has replied press inquiries saying, “We do not comment on operations.”
Saddam and his family were reported to have taken $1 billion dollars from Iraq’s Central Bank before the United States began bombing Iraq in 2003. The money was believed to be transferred to various accounts around the world.
Reports suggested that al-Hilli’s father might have been running some accounts behind the smokescreen for the Saddam and his family members.
Eric Maillaud, the French prosecutor probing the quadruple killing in Alps told Le Monde that he was ‘not yet been informed’ the German intelligence but that if Al-Hilli’s financial affairs and ties to Iraq were at the top of the inquiry.
Earlier, the French cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, who was killed with al-Hilli in the ambush, was thought to be the primary target because of his
Labels: Britain, Crime, France, Iraq, Misadventure
posted by Pieface @ Monday, October 29, 2012
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