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
2. Oil Allocations
In April 1998, Robin D’Alessandro, Vitol’s main trader for Iraqi crude oil, approached SOMO
Executive Director Saddam Z. Hassan during an OPEC meeting in Vienna in an attempt to secure
Iraqi oil contracts for Vitol. Ms. D’Alessandro was advised that SOMO was under pressure to
trade with French, Russian, and Chinese entities. After conducting some research and learning
about Mr. Boidevaix’s connections in Iraq, Ms. D’Alessandro approached Mr. Boidevaix and
offered him a consultancy agreement to assist Vitol in gaining a foothold in the Iraqi oil
market. 122
According to Mr. Boidevaix, when he met with Iraqi officials in the spring of 1998 to request oil
for Vitol, they did not seem interested and were sensitive about the nationality of Vitol’s officers
(British and American) and refinery location (Canada). After his trip, however, in a letter to the
Ministry of Oil, Mr. Boidevaix wrote that “we met at SOMO the following day to discuss our
future contract,” and promised to send a request for a specific amount of oil for the next phase.
Mr. Rashid forwarded the letter to SOMO with a handwritten note stating: “Urgent- Executive
Director of SOMO: I ask that you help as much as possible, [Mr. Boidevaix] is a friend of Iraq
and is recommended by the Deputy Prime Minister.” 123
In June 1998, Mr. Boidevaix again traveled to Baghdad, this time, with Ms. D’Alessandro from
Vitol. Ms. D’Alessandro and Mr. Boidevaix met briefly with Mr. Aziz, and she handed Mr. Aziz
a company brochure. At the end of the meeting, she left and Mr. Boidevaix had a private
conversation with Mr. Aziz. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Boidevaix signed Vitol-France’s first
contract with SOMO. According to Mr. Aziz, Mr. Boidevaix “was given allocations because he
was a friend who supported Iraqi issues.” Mr. Boidevaix has acknowledged that, among other
actions, he wrote an article arguing that, with the exception of military sanctions, the embargo on
Iraq should be lifted. Mr. Boidevaix also attended anti-sanctions conferences and appeared as a
speaker in some of these conferences. 124
122 Robin D’Alessandro interview (Oct. 10, 2005); Saddam Z. Hassan interview (Mar. 9, 2005) (confirming
that SOMO would not have sold oil to Vitol as a Swiss company, and Vitol opened a French division with
Mr. Boidevaix as its head).
123 Serge Boidevaix interview (Oct. 4, 2005); Serge Boidevaix letter to Amer Rashid (May 17, 1998)
(acknowledging meeting Mr. Rashid and Mr. Aziz, and discussing the possibility of an urgent oil lift for a
refinery in Sudan; with a handwritten note from Mr. Rashid dated May 20, 1998 (translated from Arabic));
Robin D’Alessandro interview (Oct. 10, 2005) (recalling that Mr. Boidevaix traveled to Baghdad).
124 Robin D’Alessandro interview (Oct. 10, 2005); Serge Boidevaix interview (Oct. 4, 2005) (stating that in
their attempts to gain oil allocations “we just had a hint of success after the second visit”); Tariq Aziz
interview (Aug. 16, 2005) (stating that he knows Mr. Boidevaix and considers him to be a friend); Iraqi
Ministry for Foreign Affairs letter to the Iraqi Embassy in Amman (June 4, 1998) (translated from Arabic)
(requesting a visa be issued to Ms. D’Alessandro “to whom a visa was issued previously [and] will be
accompanying a French delegation presided by Mr. Serge Boidevaix”); SOMO sales contract, no. M/04/08
(June 4, 1998); Ensemble Contre l’Embargo (Together Against the Embargo) programs of conferences,
“Irak, 9 ans d’embargo” (Nov. 17, 1999), “Irak, 10 ans après” (Nov. 25, 2001),
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