Source: Saddam's Money May be in Syria

Official: Syria 'needs to do more to cooperate'

Monday, October 13, 2003

(10:26 PM ET) (02:26 GMT)

By Elise Labott

CNN Washington Bureau

Secretary of State Colin Powell broached the subject with Syrian President Bashar Assad during a trip to Damascus in May, urging him to cooperate and open the books to U.S. investigators, State Department officials have said.
(Full story May 4, 2003)

The lack of cooperation on the Iraqi assets issue is one reason the Bush administration withdrew its objection to Syrian Accountability Act legislation, which would empower President Bush to impose additional sanctions against Syria, one State Department official said.
(Full story October 8, 2003)

WASHINGTON -- CNN
The Bush administration believes as much as $3 billion from deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime is in Syrian banks, and it wants more cooperation from Syria to help find and return the money to the Iraqi people, a Treasury Department official said Monday.

"We believe it's as much as $3 billion, and we are trying to find out and confirm this," the official told CNN.

The official said the United States is concerned that the money is possibly being withdrawn by remnants of Saddam's regime to use in committing terrorist attacks against Iraqi civilians and U.S. troops.

"That is why it is very important to secure this money," he said.

The official said the United States has given the Syrian government "very specific information," including account numbers at two Syrian banks believed to be holding the Iraqi money.

Syrian officials did not return calls from CNN seeking comment Monday.

Two criminal investigators from the Internal Revenue Service and several members of the Central Bank of Iraq are in Damascus seeking access to the specific accounts in which the United States believes the money is being kept.
(More: CNN.com / U.S.)
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Dan