Posted on 10/13/2005 5:41:30 PM PDT by Mount Athos
France has distanced itself from two former ambassadors facing corruption charges TWO former French ambassadors have admitted earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of oil that Iraq had assigned to them under the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme.
The disclosure tarnished France’s moral stand against the invasion of Iraq, and its Foreign Ministry scrambled to distance itself from the alleged illicit activities of Serge Boidevaix, a former director of the ministry, and of Jean-Bernard Mérimée, a former French Ambassador to the UN. Both are facing corruption charges.
Jean-Baptiste Mattei, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said: “There is no link . . . with the decision of France not to participate in the Iraq war. This stemmed from our concept of international law.”
Word that the two men had acknowledged payoffs from Baghdad has embarrassed the ministry, which fears that the actions of two retired diplomats will be used to discredit President Chirac’s opposition towards the invasion of Iraq.
Prosecution proceedings have been opened against both men on charges of influence peddling and corruptly acting for a foreign power. Le Monde reported that M Mérimée, 68, who served as UN Ambassador in the early 1990s, told Philippe Courroye, the investigating judge, that he had made $150,000 (£85,800) from two million barrels of oil that had been assigned to him in 2001.
Tariq Aziz, the former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, had given him the oil vouchers as thanks for his lobbying efforts on behalf of Iraq, Le Monde said. He was serving at the time as a special adviser to Kofi Annan, the UN SecretaryGeneral. M Boidevaix, 77, told investigators that he had received 29 million barrels between 1998 and 2003 in reward for lobbying on Iraq’s behalf against the international oil embargo, Le Monde said. According to the investigators, M Boidevaix had made $250,000 from selling on the vouchers.
He told Judge Courroye that he had kept the Foreign Ministry informed of his activities and the payments made to him after 1997. This appeared to conflict with the ministry’s assertion that it had no knowledge of the activities of the two ambassadors. The ministry also appeared to contradict itself, saying that in 2001 it had warned both men to observe caution in view of their status as former representatives of France. Last year, when US investigators reported evidence of French beneficiaries of the Iraqi oil handout, the ministry reacted indignantly.
Judge Courroye is investigating 11 French-based officials, business figures, politicians and a journalist who are alleged to have benefited from Baghdad’s largesse during the seven-year programme, which ended in 2003. Six have been told that they face charges. M Boidevaix told the judge that he believed that Senator Charles Pasqua, a former Gaullist Interior Minister, and others had enjoyed favours from Baghdad “because they lobbied hard for it with the Iraqis”.
The French media deplored the apparent involvement of senior state officials in corrupt dealings with the regime of Saddam Hussein. Le Monde said the image of France was at stake. Le Figaro said that “French diplomacy has been stained by ‘Oil for Food’.”
Follow the money. It leads to Chirac.
TRANSLATION: The invasion stopped a lucrative FRENCH scam, the FRENCH acted typically FRENCH
Doogle
Bush should ask France to give account for their obstruction of UN pressure on Iraq which essentially FORCED the war to happen. Blood of Americans, Iraqis and everyone else who has died in Iraq is on the hands of France.
I bet!!!
France was right in the middle of the whole thing. Chirac had his own special relationship with Saddam.
France was one of the group of permanent members on the Security Council who controlled the Oil for Food money and rules, while clinton (perhaps bribed?) turned a blind eye toward what was going on.
According to reports I have seen, most of the Oil for Food money was kept in French banks.
This was not individuals taking bribes. This was a nation selling itself to the highest bidder.
It'd be interesting if we (or the world for that matter) ever sees this in the MSM). Hmmm?
Lafayette? Is that you?
My friend! I knew you still lived in the home of our true allies! Screw these Vichy scum!
Just damn! That is one courageous man!
By the way. I did a high school paper on Lafayette, some 35 years ago. I still can recite his full name (at least one version of it).
The Marquis Marie Joseph Yves Paul Roche Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette
Many sources reverse the "Yves" and the "Paul." I actually rely on an original source (who is probably wrong) to list them in the order I do.
Damned fine gentlemen. Nice to see people like that still survive and strive in the land where the Statue of Libery was funded, designed and built. Damned fine.
..again typical FRENCH.."our concept"...meaning what they think and do...notice the sentence could have read.. This stems from international law. Typical, the weasels will always be weasels. They should never be trusted where American lives are involved. I have boycotted FRENCH products since the beginning, I will continue to do so....
Doogle
The embarrassment is not that the French were in Saddam's bed. The embarrassment is that they are no longer paid to be in Saddam's bed.
do I REALLY have to say it???
Yea right, you lying bastar@. Aside from France's known part in supporting Saddam's regime, why then did they go along with all the security council resolutions, which ultimately demanded Saddam come clean or "very strong actions" would have to be taken against him. Common. We already had no fly zones that where costing the USA billions a year to maintain, what would a very strong action mean other then military actions on the ground. Frigen lying, low life creeps!
Sounds a lot like Slick Willie:
"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement..."
Something isn't right in this story.
One guy gets 2 million barrels of oil and makes $150,000.
The other guy gets 29 million barrels of oil and only makes $250,000.
Why is that?
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Why is that?"
Appears both got the shaft on this one. Average broker commission on one barrel of crude is $0.35USD.
Its WHAT? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
They were awfully cheap whores if that's all they profited.
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