Late Qusay Hussein
Whenever the issue of biggest
bank heists in history is raised, there is no way the infamous looting of Iraq’s
Central Bank would not be mentioned. As the saying goes, some robberies require
careful planning while others simply employ the use of brute force.
Whichever way we choose to look
at it, the amount involved in Saddam's case was staggering - a whooping $1 billion. Political observers however
noted since the late dictator, Saddam Hussein treated Iraq as his own personal
fiefdom, it is no surprise that he would feel that the Central Bank of Iraq was
his personal bank account.
According to New York Times, Saddam
Hussein ordered his son - Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti - to
take about $1bn in cash from the Iraqi Central Bank just hours before the first
bombs fired by Coalition forces fell on Baghdad on his behalf with a
handwritten note.
Qusay, it was, who oversaw the
withdrawal of boxes stuffed with $100 bills in a five-hour operation which netted
the dictator about $1 billion in US dollars. Unfortunately it didn’t get Saddam
very far, as he was caught sometime later hiding in a hole in the ground whilst
his son was killed by US forces.
For the record, Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was the second son of the late Iraqi President. He was reportedly appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000. Sadly though, that dream did not materialise.
Approximately $650 million was later found by
US troops hidden in the walls of one of his palace’s, though the remaining $350
million has never been recovered and is considered lost.
The article says that the removal
of the funds would amount to one of the largest bank robberies in history - but
was quick to add that since Saddam Hussein was nearly an absolute ruler, the
action might not have broken any laws.
Interestingly, an Iraqi bank
official told the newspaper that the volume of the cash was so great it had to
be taken away in three lorries at about 0400 local time on 18 March, 2003.
He said the banknotes amounted to
one-quarter of the Central Bank's foreign currency reserves.
Alongside Saddam Hussein's
younger son Qusay, other government officials supervising the two-hour
withdrawal from the bank vault included the then Finance Minister, Hikmat
Ibrahim al-Azzawi.
Al-Azzawi has since been taken
into custody by the US-led forces whose invasion toppled Saddam Hussein's rule.
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Labels: Politics
