report on programme manipulation - Independent Inquiry Committee

INDEPENDENT INQUIRY COMMITTEE INTO THE UNITED NATIONS OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAMME
REPORT ON PROGRAMME MANIPULATION
CHAPTER TWO
OIL TRANSACTIONS AND ILLICIT PAYMENTS
Figure: Amer Rashid letter to Tariq Aziz (Apr. 12, 2002) (translated from Arabic)
Falcon Navigation Corp. (“Falcon Navigation”), an affiliated company of Trafigura, oversaw the
two Essex loadings, along with Manolis Manoussakis, Trafigura’s “on-site loss control
representative.” In May 2001, Mr. Manoussakis flew to Dubai where he boarded the Essex prior
to proceeding to Mina al-Bakr. Theofonis Chiladakis, the captain of the tanker Essex, was
instructed by Trafigura to follow Mr. Manoussakis’s instructions for the loading. 365
In May 2001, after the first parcel of 1.8 million barrels was loaded at Mina al-Bakr, Mr. Oliveira,
Mr. Manoussakis, and the loading master for the Iraqi South Oil Company at the port, oversaw
the gauging of the Essex. Once the initial measurements were performed, loading resumed for
the top-off cargo and a second gauging was done to measure the total quantity after the top-off.
These same circumstances occurred during the second Essex lifting in August 2001. Mr.
Manoussakis accounted for the total quantity of oil aboard the vessel and documented the top-off
parcels with a second bill of lading. With both top-offs, Total Quality on Board forms (“TQOB
forms”) of the total quantity lifted by the Essex were signed by Mr. Manoussakis and Mr. Al-
Seraih. 366
365 Trafigura, “Companies Worldwide,” http://www.trafigura.com (identifying Falcon Navigation as one of
Trafigura’s global companies); Trafigura letter to the Committee (Jan. 31, 2005); Manolis Manoussakis
interview (May 12, 2005) (stating that Theofanis Chiladakis died in 2002); Beverly Rudy letter to Benon
Sevan (Nov. 2, 2001); Michele Sloan memorandum to Falcon Navigation (July 30, 2001); Jean-Paul Cayre
handwritten note (May 2001); Jean-Paul Cayre affidavit (paras. 21 and 27) (stating that the May 2001
lifting was the first time in Trafigura’s dealings with Ibex that Trafigura sent a representative to supervise
the loading).
366 Manolis Manoussakis interview (May 12, 2005). TQOB forms were completed for each of the two
Essex loadings. These forms were not normally used, but were requested by Mr. Manoussakis as a record
of the total load amounts. Ibid. See also Jean-Paul Cayre Affidavit (para. 27) (relating that Trafigura
instructed Mr. Manoussakis to supervise the second Essex loading). Mina al-Bakr had no metering
capability. Thus the actual amount of Basrah light crude lifted by a vessel could only be measured after it
was loaded. This practice, called gauging, and the measurement calculations that resulted, were the
responsibility of Saybolt. 1996 Technical Report; 2000 Experts Report; Manolis Manoussakis interview
(May 12, 2005).
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