British traders charged over Iraqi oil-for-food affair
Friday, 28 August 2009
LONDON, Aug 27 (AFP): Two British oil traders have been charged with breaching UN sanctions in the "oil for food" programme imposed against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, reports said today.
Aftab al-Hassan was due to appear in a London court Thursday over allegations he funnelled 1.6 million dollars (900,000 pounds, 1.12m euros) in payments into offshore bank accounts run by the Iraqi government, the Financial Times said.
He has been charged with 13 counts of breaking sanctions imposed by the United Nations between January 2001 and April 2002, the FT said.
"Our client's defence is that any payment he made was perfectly legal. There was nothing underhand or illegal about any of the 13 payments," his lawyer told the newspaper.
A second trader appeared in court on August 19 on similar charges, the Daily Telegraph newspaper said.
The charges are part of a wide investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over allegations British companies paid bribes to the former Iraqi dictator's regime to win lucrative contracts.
Aftab al-Hassan was due to appear in a London court Thursday over allegations he funnelled 1.6 million dollars (900,000 pounds, 1.12m euros) in payments into offshore bank accounts run by the Iraqi government, the Financial Times said.
He has been charged with 13 counts of breaking sanctions imposed by the United Nations between January 2001 and April 2002, the FT said.
"Our client's defence is that any payment he made was perfectly legal. There was nothing underhand or illegal about any of the 13 payments," his lawyer told the newspaper.
A second trader appeared in court on August 19 on similar charges, the Daily Telegraph newspaper said.
The charges are part of a wide investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over allegations British companies paid bribes to the former Iraqi dictator's regime to win lucrative contracts.