Sudan's Bashir 'stashed $9bn in UK'

Leaked US cable quotes world court prosecutor as saying president's "illegal accounts" could turn public against him. Last Modified: 18 Dec 2010 05:33 GMT

Moreno-Ocampo said that the disclosure of the alleged illegal accounts could turn people against al-Bashir [AFP] Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, has transferred up to $9bn out of the African nation, with much of it sent to banks in the United Kingdom, according to leaked US diplomatic cables reported in the Guardian newspaper. A US diplomatic cable released by the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website on Saturday details a conversation between Alejandro D. Wolff, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, and Luis Moreno Ocampo, the chief prosecutor to the International Criminal Court (ICC). During a meeting in March 2009, Moreno-Ocampo is quoted as saying that the disclosure of the alleged "illegal accounts" could help garner support for al-Bashir's arrest. "Ocampo suggested if Bashir's stash of money were disclosed [he put the figure at $9bn], it would change Sudanese public opinion from him being a 'crusader' to that of a thief," the cable says. "Ocampo suggested exposing Bashir had illegal accounts would be enough to turn the Sudanese against him." War crimes charges Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world with an estimated 40 per cent of the population living below the poverty line, despite being a sizable exporter of oil. The meeting between Wolff and Moreno-Ocampo came shortly after the ICC ordered the arrest of the Sudanese president on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country's western Darfur region. A further three counts of genocide were added to the charges in July. Khartoum has repeatedly dismissed the arrest warrant as "a political decision" and African nations have refused to comply by detaining al-Bashir during overseas visits. The leaked cable also hints at efforts to bring major world powers on board over the arrest warrant. "Ocampo suggested it would be beneficial to reassure China that its access to oil would not be jeopardised," the cable says. "If China believed Bashir was becoming a destabilising influence, Ocampo said China might be more open to his removal as long as his replacement would guarantee support for China's economic interests." The document said that Britain's Lloyds Banking Group "may be holding or knowledgeable of the whereabouts of his money". But Lloyds insisted it was not aware of any link with al-Bashir. "We have absolutely no evidence to suggest there is any connection between Lloyds Banking Group and Mr Bashir," a spokeswoman said. "The group's policy is to abide by the legal and regulatory obligations in all jurisdictions in which we operate." 'Unrealistic' Abdel Rahman Mohamed, an international development consultant in the US, said there would be "a great deal of ramifications" if the allegations were proven true. "However I don't think the reality reflects any possibility for anybody to take $9bn and put [that] in the United Kingdom," he told Al Jazeera. "If he had wanted to do this he would have placed [the money] in some place where other members of the regime have stashed their money away, in Malaysia or Dubai or somewhere else. Not in a Western country where he could be subject to investigation." The release of the US cable came at a sensitive moment for Sudan, with a referendum on south Sudan independence slated for January 9. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall, reporting from Khartoum, said al-Bashir's enemies, particularly the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which governs the semi-autonomous south, were likely to use the allegations against al-Bashir. "Particularly SPLM will pick up on this to discredit him further and most probably they will use it in the campaigning in the south, that this government cannot be dealt with, that it's not credible," he said. "The SPLM has been raising many accusations in the past about the lack of transparency in the division of oil revenues between the north and south and this is a very good story for them."

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies