"Saddam Hussein's money" is taking a large part again in "Lebanon"...and this is its story!!

by **Rocky** Thu 02 Mar 2023, 6:13 am

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Post n°1

"Saddam Hussein's money" is taking a large part again in "Lebanon"...and this is its story!!

by Rocky Thu 02 Mar 2023, 6:13 am

[size=32]"Saddam Hussein's money" is taking a large part again in "Lebanon"...and this is its story!![/size]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Thursday 02 March 2023 11:48 am (140 views)

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Baghdad / Sky Press

The case of "Saddam Hussein's money" has returned to take up a large part of public discussion in Lebanon and on social media, after a report was submitted to the Appeal Public Prosecution in Mount Lebanon, in the face of former Lebanese President Michel Aoun, his wife Nadia Al-Shami and her brother, about the crimes of "embezzlement of public money and smuggling". Money laundering, illegal enrichment and theft of funds for the Lebanese army" had reached him as support from Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, between the mid-eighties of the last century and the beginning of the nineties.

This information, which was submitted by the head of the “Lebanese Action Against Corruption,” lawyer Louay Ghandour, in his personal capacity to the Public Prosecution, came against the background of an explanatory statement issued by the Deputy Prime Minister of Aoun’s military government (in 1988), Major General Issam Abu Jamra, who was one of the most Those close to Aoun at that stage and beyond, and he took refuge with him in the French capital after Aoun lost his war with the Syrian army (1990).

The statement spoke of Aoun receiving 30 million US dollars from the former Iraqi president to support the salaries of the Lebanese army, and that he transferred 15 million of them to the account of his wife and her brother abroad, and then withdrew another 12 million for personal purposes.

Abu Jamra's statement came against the background of statements made by the head of the Lebanese newspaper Al Diyar, Charles Ayoub, who is also a former officer in the Lebanese army, accusing him of conspiring with Aoun to transfer funds, which Abu Jamra denied in his statement published by the National News Agency, and he said in it, " In fact, I did not transfer money to General Aoun’s person abroad at all. I alerted him and disagreed with him because he singled out the transfer of 15 million dollars abroad in the name of his wife and her brother, from an account he opened in his name for the government, at a value of 30 million dollars, which Saddam Hussein gave at my request to him to support the salaries of the army, as The money was cut off from him from the other government... Then he returned and took the remaining 12 million out of the 30 million from the Ministry of Finance in 2016. He agreed to release it and hand it over to the Minister of Finance at the time, Muhammad Al-Safadi, and he is still with him disposing of it by a decision issued by him, as if it were money specific to him, so clarification was required.

In his statement, Abu Jamra advised, "To provide this amount as a gift, to be distributed to the families of the martyred soldiers from the army and security forces who have fallen since assuming the presidency of the Republic until now, instead of spending it on building empty palaces."

The story of this money dates back to the period between 1988 and 1990, according to lawyer Louay Ghandour in a press interview. This is the stage in which Aoun took over the leadership of a transitional military government that was formed in the last minutes of the mandate of former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel, in the face of another government. It is headed by Salim El-Hoss, loyal to former Lebanese President Elias Hrawi.

The political division in managing the country was reflected in a division in the Lebanese army at the time, as part of it transferred its loyalty to President Hrawi, who is allied with Syria, while another part of the army remained under the leadership of Michel Aoun, who launched a war against the Syrian army deployed in Lebanon, under the name of the war of liberation.

The division of the army at the time made the section that remained under Aoun’s leadership “outside the legitimacy” in relation to the second government headed by Salim al-Hoss, according to Ghandour, which led to cutting off salaries and financing for them, which prompted Aoun at the time to collect donations from the Lebanese. And he asked for foreign aid from countries that were hostile to the regime of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, most notably the regime of the Iraqi Baath Party led by Saddam Hussein.

According to historical data, the Iraqi regime at the time was among the most prominent supporters of Michel Aoun to wage a "war of liberation" against the Syrian army in Lebanon, especially after Saddam Hussein's occupation of Kuwait and what followed in the second Gulf War, when the Syrian army participated in the battles to liberate Kuwait from the invasion. Saddam, the relations worsened between the two Baathist regimes, which was reflected in the settling of scores on the Lebanese scene.

The amount of 30 million was not the only one that reached Aoun’s government, according to what several sources confirm, including the memoirs of Michel Aoun’s delegate to Saddam Hussein, Fouad Aoun, who at the time held the position of chief of staff for equipment affairs in the Lebanese army, as he confirms in books A kit issued to him, based on the facts of Iraqi funding, which was not limited at the time to Aoun's government and his forces, but also to other militias involved in the civil war, such as the Lebanese Forces.

However, this particular amount had many suspicions surrounding it, especially since it was one of the last payments that reached Aoun from Iraq, before he lost the war with the Syrian army and took refuge in France in 1990, the event that ended the Lebanese civil war.

Former Lebanese President Elias Hrawi, who was Aoun’s main opponent at that stage, had referred to this issue in a book of memoirs issued to him entitled “The Return of the Republic from the State to the State,” in which he talked about Aoun’s exploitation of public funds that had been collected through official institutions, to achieve His personal interest, including the story of the $30 million he said was transferred from a Lebanese bank to Aoun's wife's account in France.

Ghandour points out that $12 million of the original amount was not transferred to France at the time, and the Lebanese state confiscated it after Aoun sought refuge in France.” However, the Ministry of Finance returned in 2016, during the reign of former Finance Minister Muhammad al-Safadi, and allowed Aoun to withdraw this amount, considering The account in which the amount was deposited is Aoun’s personal account, according to what he confirmed at the time, in the absence of data with the Lebanese state confirming that these funds reached the Lebanese army from Saddam Hussein.

He adds, "The amount represents part of the funding that Aoun received during his war, as he personally benefited from it instead of giving it to the army, and this was what his deputy Issam Abu Jamra exposed in his statement on which the news was based. There are those who say today that this is not public money, and his supporters say, "Two pages on his heart”, but in reality this money arrived in the name of the Lebanese army and has become like public money.”

Ghandour confirms that he has no evidence about these accusations, "If I had evidence, I would have submitted it in a complaint and not in a news, but since Judge Ghada Aoun had previously requested the submission of information about suspicions of financial corruption for investigation, no matter how high the status of the persons, and as she had previously investigated cases Related to the Governor of the Banque du Liban, the Maktif Company, President Mikati, and others, and in our belief in the role of the judiciary, we have submitted this news against Michel Aoun, based on the statements of his deputy at the time. Call Issam Abu Jamr to ask him about the matter, especially since there are suspicions that some of this cash is kept in Michel Aoun’s house or office. Aoun, raid it as you did with others.”

Ghandour asked the Public Prosecutor of Appeal in Mount Lebanon, Judge Ghada Aoun, to conduct the necessary raids and investigations in order to return the funds to the treasury, as part of the campaign she is launching against those who abuse public money.

Soon, the news presented was given a political character, as Aoun’s supporters considered it a deliberate targeting of Michel Aoun on the one hand, and the efforts of Judge Ghada Aoun on the other hand, who is also investigating financial cases related to smuggling money from Lebanon after the economic collapse, and in this context is pursuing a bank governor. Lebanon Riad Salameh and a number of Lebanese banks and their owners, while several accusations of political bias revolve around her and her judiciary work reconciles with the political agenda of Aoun's political team by being affiliated with them, which makes this news, in the view of Aoun's supporters, tantamount to an "attempt to embarrass".

For her part, Wendley Jabbour, the media official in the "Free Patriotic Movement", is surprised that this issue is brought up at this particular time, and puts it within the framework of "completing work on demonizing President Aoun, a goal he has been working on since October 17, 2019 (the outbreak of protests in Lebanon), and also To deflect attention from the real financial crimes taking place today, which the Lebanese judiciary has begun to move towards, especially the file of the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riyad Salameh, which was opened and is being followed up by the Lebanese and European judiciary.

In her interview with Al-Hurra, she believes that the discussion on this issue coincides with the progress of the European judiciary with the Riad Salameh file and the judicial movement led by Judge Ghada Aoun. It includes Charles Ayoub on this issue, as he had already opened it at several previous times, and therefore for us the timing is suspicious.”

Jabbour describes the case as "a fictitious file. It was opened around the mid-1990s during President Hrawi's era, in which Aoun is accused of several financial issues, including Aoun's appropriation of the funds of donors supporting General Aoun that they provided to the military establishment, and its transfer to France with foreign funds that arrived through the General's relations." political assistance abroad.

Jabbour recalls that this case ended at the time with a verdict of innocence in favor of Aoun, "as no guilt was proven. On the contrary, the judiciary was fair to President Aoun even before his return from exile.

Aoun had previously filed a lawsuit against Hrawi, accusing him of slander and defamation, on the background of what was stated in his book of memoirs about Aoun and the smuggling of money to France. And a ruling was issued in 2003, which considered that the money confiscated by the Lebanese state from Aoun’s wife when she was traveling was personal money for her and her husband and not for the Lebanese state’s treasury. A subsequent ruling in 2012 ruled that Hrawi’s heirs be fined a financial compensation of $20,000 to Aoun.

In this context, Jabbour believes that everyone who followed the file and the fans of the Free Patriotic Movement "know fully that the money that reached President Aoun from the Lebanese people was all spent on covering the expenses of the military establishment, and the money that was arriving from abroad all entered according to the rules, and went to support The military is also at that point covering the expenses of the war.”

And she continues, "Today, as a movement, we are not against the news in and of itself, and we are with the judiciary taking its course, but the difference is that the judiciary in this matter has already taken its course before, and decided it and acquitted General Aoun, so let other news about other cases be presented and let the judiciary take its course, there is no problem with that."

And while Jabbour believes that the campaign against Aoun originates from those affected by the financial investigations, especially on the part of the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Lawyer Ghandour mentions that he is also in the line of confrontation with the Governor of the Central Bank, pointing out that he is filing a lawsuit against him, stressing that he is in confrontation "with all the financial mafia In Lebanon ".

In this context, Jabbour believes that "there is a problem in trying to put everyone in the same basket of accusations, but certainly it is not possible to follow the principle of all of them means all of them."

As for the fact that the news was presented based on the words of one of the most prominent associates of Aoun and his deputy in the former military government, Jabbour says, "Abu Jamra felt that he had lost all the roles he used to play, and today he is trying to say in any possible way, "I exist," even if it was by attacking the one who gave him a name. on the Lebanese scene.

For his part, Ghandour points out that the news reporter, if he follows his legal path, will put Aoun in front of several solutions. Today, he was not a president at the time, or to say that these cases are covered by the amnesty law, or to say that these are private funds.”

And he concludes, "In the four cases, our goal will be achieved, that the banner-bearer of reform and change did not deny taking this money and transferring it abroad, especially since his performer and his current portrayed him as a poor person who left the Baabda Palace to return to a modest house that did not even change its furniture. If so, what about this money? This is our goal today of telling."

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by **Rocky** Thu 02 Mar 2023, 6:17 am

Rocky

Rocky: Admin Assist; Posts : 269366
Join date : 2012-12-21

Post n°2

At a value of 30 million dollars.. Saddam Hussein's money is chasing the family of the former Lebane

by Rocky Thu 02 Mar 2023, 6:17 am

At a value of 30 million dollars.. Saddam Hussein's money is chasing the family of the former Lebanese president

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[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] |Today, 09:49 |

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Baghdad today - follow-up

The case of "Saddam Hussein's money" has returned to a large part of public discussion in Lebanon and on social media, after a report was submitted to the Appeal Public Prosecution in Mount Lebanon, against former Lebanese President Michel Aoun, his wife and her brother, about the crimes of "embezzlement of public money and theft of funds for the Lebanese army." She had received it as support from Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.

This information, which was submitted by the head of the “Lebanese Action Against Corruption,” lawyer Louay Ghandour, in his personal capacity to the Public Prosecution, came against the background of an explanatory statement issued by the Deputy Prime Minister of Aoun’s military government (in 1988), Major General Issam Abu Jamra, who was one of the most Those close to Aoun at that stage and beyond, and he took refuge with him in the French capital after Aoun lost his war with the Syrian army (1990).

The statement talked about "Aoun receiving 30 million US dollars from the former Iraqi president to support the salaries of the Lebanese army, and he transferred 15 million of them to the account of his wife and her brother abroad, then he withdrew another 12 million for personal purposes."

Abu Jamra's statement came against the background of statements made by Charles Ayoub, also a former officer in the Lebanese army, accusing him of "conspiring with Aoun to transfer funds," which Abu Jamra denied in his statement published by the National News Agency, in which he said, "In fact, I did not I transfer money to General Aoun’s person abroad at all. I alerted him and disagreed with him because he singled out the transfer of 15 million dollars abroad in the name of his wife and her brother, from an account he opened in his name for the government, with a value of 30 million dollars, which Saddam Hussein presented at my request to him to support the army salaries, as the money was cut off from him from the other government.

He added, "Then he returned and received in 2016 from the Ministry of Finance the remaining 12 million out of the 30 million, and agreed to release it and hand it over to the Minister of Finance at the time, Muhammad al-Safadi, and he is still with him disposing of it by a decision issued by him, as if it were his own money, so he required clarification."

The story of these funds dates back to the period between 1988 and 1990, according to lawyer Louay Ghandour, during which Aoun took over the leadership of a transitional military government that was formed in the last minutes of the mandate of former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel, in the face of another government headed by Salim al-Hoss. Loyal to former Lebanese President Elias Hrawi.

According to the data, the Iraqi regime at the time was among the most prominent supporters of Michel Aoun to wage a "war of liberation" against the Syrian army in Lebanon, especially after Saddam Hussein's occupation of Kuwait and what followed in the second Gulf War, where the Syrian army participated in the battles to liberate Kuwait from Saddam's invasion. As relations worsened between the two Baathist regimes, which was reflected in the settling of scores on the Lebanese scene.

Ghandour points out that "12 million dollars of the original amount was not transferred to France at the time, and the Lebanese state confiscated it after Aoun sought refuge in France." However, the Ministry of Finance returned in 2016, during the reign of former Finance Minister Muhammad al-Safadi, and allowed Aoun to withdraw this amount. Considering that the account in which the amount was deposited is a personal account for Aoun, according to what he confirmed at the time, in light of the absence of data with the Lebanese state confirming that these funds reached the Lebanese army from Saddam Hussein.

Ghandour confirms that he has no evidence about these accusations, "If I had evidence, I would have submitted it in a complaint and not in a news, but since Judge Ghada Aoun had previously requested the submission of information about suspicions of financial corruption for investigation, no matter how high the status of the persons, and in our belief in the role of the judiciary, we have submitted this The news of Michel Aoun's right is based on the statements of his deputy at the time, so summon Issam Abu Jamr to ask him about the matter, especially since there are suspicions that part of this cash is kept in Michel Aoun's house or office, so let him raid it as it has previously done with others.

Aoun had previously filed a lawsuit against Hrawi, accusing him of slander and defamation, on the background of what was stated in his book of memoirs about Aoun and the smuggling of money to France. And a ruling was issued in 2003, which considered that the money confiscated by the Lebanese state from Aoun’s wife when she was traveling was personal money for her and her husband and not for the Lebanese state’s treasury. A subsequent ruling in 2012 ruled that Hrawi’s heirs be fined a financial compensation of $20,000 to Aoun.

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"Saddam Hussein's money" is taking a large part again in "Lebanon"...and this is its story!!

"Saddam Hussein's money" is taking a large part again in "Lebanon"...and this is its story!!

At a value of 30 million dollars.. Saddam Hussein's money is chasing the family of the former Lebane

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