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'The Maustro' admits connection to `Koreagate Man'
CFP ^ | April 19, 2005 | Judi McLeod

Posted on 04/19/2005 9:41:57 AM PDT by MikeEdwards

Kofi Annan’s special envoy to Korea Maurice Strong admits he knows "Koreagate Man" Tongsun Park and even that Park invested in an "energy company" with which he was associated in 1997--but flatly denies any involvement in the scandal-ridden UN oil-for-food program.

U.S. federal prosecutors are on the hunt for Park, who was charged on Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with allegedly accepting million of dollars from the Iraqi government while operating in the U.S. as an unregistered agent for Baghdad.

"Park was accused of telling a cooperating government witness in 1995 that he needed $10 million from Iraq to "take care" of his expenses and his people (DOW JONES NEWSWIRE). "The witness believed that that meant a person identified in court papers only as `U.N. Official No. 1."

Strong, got his start in the world of business by Paul Desmarais’ Montreal-based Power Corporation. Desmarais is a key figure in Paribas BNP, Saddam’s favourite bank, officials of which are said to be "cooperating with investigators" in the oil-for-food probe.

Strong also happens to be a power behind the throne in Canadian politics as senior advisor to adscam, scandal-plagued Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin--also launched into the business world by Power Corp.

As Kofi Annan’s special envoy to Korea, Strong returns from his Korean trips to openly criticize the U.S. Strong told CBS’s Dan Rather on May 26, 2004: "The single most important thing that comes out of my discussions there is the strong conviction that the country is threatened by the United States. They contend that this is the reason, and the only reason, that they require nuclear weapons."

Now that Strong’s association with "Koreagate man" Park Tong-sun is out in the open, speculation about further oil-for-food players is the talk around UN water coolers. . . . .

(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: iraq; korea; koreagate; maurice; oilforfood; park; strong; tongsun

1 posted on 04/19/2005 9:42:00 AM PDT by MikeEdwards
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To: MikeEdwards
This isn't Tongsun Park's first visit to Scandalville.

Wasn't it back during the Seventies?

2 posted on 04/19/2005 9:49:24 AM PDT by George Smiley (This tagline deliberately targeted journalists.)
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