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Swiss bank agrees Iraq asset grab
Habs gefunden, ich schussel:
Sehr spannender Absatz, war mir nicht klar, dass das nicht direkt geht:
"... That includes any inter-bank transaction using US dollars - each of
which has formally to be cleared through the New York Federal Reserve -
... "
Ist das OT, oder nicht? Denke nein, weil den Zugang zu Netzen Sperren
ist "cyberwar", other thoughts?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2881389.stm
Swiss bank agrees Iraq asset grab
By Jeremy Scott-Joynt
BBC News Online business reporte
As far as UBS is concerned, the funds it is holding are without question
under US jurisdiction.
The money, UBS spokesman Serge Steiner told BBC News Online, stems from
payments made by US oil companies, destined for Iraqi counterparts and
trapped in the US by resolution 661 in 1990.
"Because of that, of course we will comply with what the US authorities
want of us," he told BBC News Online.
He declined to say how much money there was in its coffers.
Nor would he speculate on how different the position might be if the money
was in Switzerland, which has already said it cannot act without a fresh
UN Security Council resolution.
Blacklisted
The US has made no bones about threatening those who do not co-operate.
The Patriot Act, introduced in the wake of 9/11, gives the government the
power to confiscate any property under US jurisdiction if he believes it
is necessary for national security.
As far as UBS is concerned, the funds it is holding are without question
under US jurisdiction.
The money, UBS spokesman Serge Steiner told BBC News Online, stems from
payments made by US oil companies, destined for Iraqi counterparts and
trapped in the US by resolution 661 in 1990.
"Because of that, of course we will comply with what the US authorities
want of us," he told BBC News Online.
He declined to say how much money there was in its coffers.
Nor would he speculate on how different the position might be if the money
was in Switzerland, which has already said it cannot act without a fresh
UN Security Council resolution.
Blacklisted
The US has made no bones about threatening those who do not co-operate.
The Patriot Act, introduced in the wake of 9/11, gives the government the
power to confiscate any property under US jurisdiction if he believes it
is necessary for national security.
That includes any inter-bank transaction using US dollars - each of which
has formally to be cleared through the New York Federal Reserve - as well
as any assets on US soil.
So any company which has contracts with Iraqi state organs is potentially
at risk if it has any money in US banks or denominated in US dollars,
according to Kern Alexander, Senior Research Fellow in International
Financial Regulation at Cambridge University's Judge Institute of
Management Studies and an expert on the Patriot Act.
"There used to be a rule that the government had to say there was a direct
relationship between the assets they were seizing and the activity being
punished", Mr Alexander told BBC News Online.
"Now they don't have to provide any direct connection, so if you've got an
unrelated manufacturing plant in Michigan or you're a natural gas firm
with an office in Houston, you're out of luck."
Falling in line
With this fear of being cut off from the US financial system in mind,
European countries are beginning to signal their willingness to
investigate whether they can comply.
Saddam Hussein's money is said to be secreted around the world
In line with the UK's staunch backing for the US-led war on Iraq,
Chancellor Gordon Brown said on Saturday that he would take "whatever
steps are necessary" to follow the US lead.
A spokesman told BBC News Online that while the UK could not act yet, one
option - assuming a US-UK victory - might be a UN Security Resolution
transferring the Iraqi regime's assets to whatever new government replaced
it, as was done with Taliban assets in Afdghanistan.
And a spokesman for the Netherlands Finance Ministry told BBC News Online
that although the government had been "a little surprised" by the request,
it was examining how it might be legally possible to fall in line.
That could prove highly problematic, since the European Convention on
Human Rights bans seizure without due process.
Russia, on the other hand, has flatly refused to co-operate.
France, incidentally, is thought to have no Iraqi assets to speak of,
despite the close relationship between some French companies and Iraq.
That, Mr Alexander said, is lucky for France, given the stormy
relationship it currently enjoys with the US.
"When you're dealing with allies, usually a quiet diplomatic word can help
smooth out the legal difficulties," he said.
"But if it was France, the US would definitely be playing hardball."
Gruss
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