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American Morning

Saddam's Money

Aired October 13, 2003 - 07:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Ever since the fall of Baghdad last April, American officials have been hunting not only for Saddam Hussein, but also for his fortune. Now, there is word that up to $3 billion in Iraqi assets could be in Syrian banks controlled by the government there -- that's according to a special report in "TIME" magazine.
Adam Zagorin is a Washington correspondent for "TIME," and he joins us from our D.C. bureau this morning.

Good morning. Nice to see you.

ADAM ZAGORIN, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Nice to be with you.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of that $3 billion, which is what's estimated right now, where exactly is it located? And fill me in on efforts to get the Syrians to turn that money over.

ZAGORIN: Well, it's located, according to a senior U.S. official, in a Syrian government-controlled bank in Damascus and probably in another Syrian-controlled bank in Lebanon. And the reason why it's important is because the United States has raised this at the highest level with the Syrian government. Colin Powell, the secretary of state, raised this in early May privately with Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria. He asked for the money back.

O'BRIEN: What has Syria said publicly? As you mentioned, a lot of these discussions are going on behind the scenes. But what has Syria said publicly?

ZAGORIN: Well, Syria's public position is that there is no Iraqi money in Syria. But, privately, they have told the United States, as I understand it, that they have frozen some unspecified accounts. This was judged to be an insufficient response by the Syrians in Washington.

And so, the United States pressed Syria. They told Syria that Syria could face sanctions -- economic sanctions imposed by President Bush under the Patriot Act if they did not return the money.

And just about two weeks ago or so, the United States sent two skilled financial investigators to Syria, along with two specialists from the Iraqi Central Bank, to look for the money. And the United States is not happy with the cooperation that they've been getting since they were sent there. O'BRIEN: The big question is I'm sure for the U.S. is: Is this money funding terrorists in any way? What did your investigation show about that?

ZAGORIN: Well, the United States is not prepared to say that it is funding terrorism or anti-U.S. violence in nearby Iraq, some of which, obviously, we tragically saw yesterday. But, by the same token, the United States is not sure that it is not funding that terrorism.

And the other problem is that as long as such large amounts of money remain in Syria, Iraqi money remains in Syria, no one can be sure what's happening to it, whether it's being drawn down by members of the outside government or their supporters. So, the United States is eager to determine what's going on with that money.

O'BRIEN: Well, Adam Zagorin, thanks for joining us this morning. A very interesting article in "TIME" magazine. Appreciate it.

ZAGORIN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired October 13, 2003 - 07:12   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Ever since the fall of Baghdad last April, American officials have been hunting not only for Saddam Hussein, but also for his fortune. Now, there is word that up to $3 billion in Iraqi assets could be in Syrian banks controlled by the government there -- that's according to a special report in "TIME" magazine.
Adam Zagorin is a Washington correspondent for "TIME," and he joins us from our D.C. bureau this morning.

Good morning. Nice to see you.

ADAM ZAGORIN, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Nice to be with you.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of that $3 billion, which is what's estimated right now, where exactly is it located? And fill me in on efforts to get the Syrians to turn that money over.

ZAGORIN: Well, it's located, according to a senior U.S. official, in a Syrian government-controlled bank in Damascus and probably in another Syrian-controlled bank in Lebanon. And the reason why it's important is because the United States has raised this at the highest level with the Syrian government. Colin Powell, the secretary of state, raised this in early May privately with Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria. He asked for the money back.

O'BRIEN: What has Syria said publicly? As you mentioned, a lot of these discussions are going on behind the scenes. But what has Syria said publicly?

ZAGORIN: Well, Syria's public position is that there is no Iraqi money in Syria. But, privately, they have told the United States, as I understand it, that they have frozen some unspecified accounts. This was judged to be an insufficient response by the Syrians in Washington.

And so, the United States pressed Syria. They told Syria that Syria could face sanctions -- economic sanctions imposed by President Bush under the Patriot Act if they did not return the money.

And just about two weeks ago or so, the United States sent two skilled financial investigators to Syria, along with two specialists from the Iraqi Central Bank, to look for the money. And the United States is not happy with the cooperation that they've been getting since they were sent there. O'BRIEN: The big question is I'm sure for the U.S. is: Is this money funding terrorists in any way? What did your investigation show about that?

ZAGORIN: Well, the United States is not prepared to say that it is funding terrorism or anti-U.S. violence in nearby Iraq, some of which, obviously, we tragically saw yesterday. But, by the same token, the United States is not sure that it is not funding that terrorism.

And the other problem is that as long as such large amounts of money remain in Syria, Iraqi money remains in Syria, no one can be sure what's happening to it, whether it's being drawn down by members of the outside government or their supporters. So, the United States is eager to determine what's going on with that money.

O'BRIEN: Well, Adam Zagorin, thanks for joining us this morning. A very interesting article in "TIME" magazine. Appreciate it.

ZAGORIN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.