The Iraqi government has asked France to transfer Saddam Hussein’s frozen assets in Banque du France in the amount of 23.48 million euros in keeping with Security Council resolution 1483 from 2003. An Iraqi diplomat said France is the only country which has failed to unfreeze Saddam’s assets in its banks and criticized the government of former president Jacques Chirac for mishandling this matter.
A spokesperson for the French ministry of foreign affairs attributed the delay to administrative and legal procedures and promised to deal with the case expeditiously. According to the same spokesperson, Saddam has invested in real estate and villas in south of France, and the case is also under review.
Source: Al-Mada, Iraq, December 25, 2007
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