Agence France Presse

BEIRUT, 2 February 2004 — Lebanon has agreed to return an estimated nearly $500 million deposited in local banks by the regime of toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, according to a member of Baghdad’s interim Governing Council.

“We examined the issue of Iraqi funds deposited in Lebanese banks and there is a definite figure concerning the amount,” Mowaffaq Al-Roubaie said.

He was speaking to the media after a meeting on Saturday night with Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Roubaie did not reveal the exact amount of stashed funds, but Lebanese officials have said some $495 million of Iraqi money is in the country’s banking system.

The official said an Iraqi technical team including interim Finance Minister Kamal Al-Kilani and the central bank governor would soon travel to Beirut “to take possession of this money and assure its transfer to Iraqi power.”

Beirut has never been opposed to the repatriation of the funds, but had wanted to wait until a permanent government was installed in Iraq, which currently only has the temporary Governing Council overseen by the US-led coalition.

Stumbling Block

Another stumbling block was that funds claimed by Iraq were also frozen in Lebanon to cover debts owed by the former regime to Lebanese businesses.

In response, Iraq froze some $290,000 belonging to the Lebanese Embassy in Baghdad, officials in the Lebanese capital said.

According to Lebanese banking sources, the Iraqi funds were deposited in 20 different financial institutions within the country.

Some of the money was deposited by the regime through normal channels, while other deposits were made in cash in the name of local political figures.

Kilani held talks with his Lebanese counterpart and Lebanon’s central bank governor in November as part of his mission to recover billions of dollars deposited in Lebanon and elsewhere by Saddam’s regime.