Dr Burhan Mahmoud Al-Chalabi

20 April 2006

Q100  Sir Philip Mawer: Mr Al-Mukhtar, you were about to say something helpful and I am afraid I cut you off.

Mr Al-Mukhtar: That is fine. The structure was this. The oil company had a contract with SOMO, that is, Fortum had a contract with SOMO for three million. In that contract the agent was Dr Chalabi, for which he has got his commission. Evidently, without Dr Chalabi's knowledge, somehow Zureikat and Fortum have obtained a further million; it is a separate shipment. Zureikat was not the agent of Fortum, so clearly Fortum, in order for them to give the commission to Zureikat, either they did not have the arrangement or they did not want to do it because they had—whatever, because it is a state-owned company. So what they have done is, they have asked Dr Chalabi to use his own vehicle, that is, the company which he had, of which he was the beneficial owner, to receive the commission which is for Zureikat and to pass it on to Zureikat, and for that service I think he also got some added on. You had some payment?

Dr Al-Chalabi: I think I have had two cents or something.

Mr Al-Mukhtar: So he had—for facilitating this transfer, ie, the amount coming from Fortum to the company and from the company to Zureikat, but they are two separate exercises. Whether—according to the IIS or whatever, how did this one million come about, Dr Chalabi has no knowledge and he has not any part in it.

Q101  Sir Philip Mawer: He has made that very clear already, Mr Al-Mukhtar, and I am grateful to you for setting the position out as clearly as you have done. It is consistent with the picture that I have formed from Dr Chalabi's own contribution.

Q102  Mr Healey: May I ask one question? When you were negotiating with Fortum and SOMO for this transaction, you were not discussing this with Mr Zureikat or Mr Galloway?

Dr Al-Chalabi: I was not negotiating with SOMO. I just introduced them to the oil company. They did all the negotiations. It was not my place to negotiate.

Q103  Sir Philip Mawer: But Mr Galloway and Mr Zureikat were aware of the fact that you were in touch with Fortum?

Dr Al-Chalabi: I do not—Mr Galloway had nothing to do with it.

Q104  Sir Philip Mawer: But Mr Zureikat was aware of it?

Dr Al-Chalabi: Mr Zureikat was aware that I was looking to introduce companies to Iraq, certainly.

Q105  Sir Philip Mawer: Was he aware specifically of your relationship with Fortum/Neste Oy?

Dr Al-Chalabi: He may have been aware that, you know, they have applied for oil. I mean, he may have been aware. I cannot comment.

Q106  Sir Philip Mawer: He may have been aware during that?

Dr Al-Chalabi: Yes.

Q107  Sir Philip Mawer: We have talked about the $70,000 dollar transfer from the Delta Services account to Mr Zureikat and you have explained that as a commission payment in effect by Fortum to him which you were asked to facilitate in terms of a transfer. We have not spoken yet about the payments that were made to Dr Abu-Zayyed, and I think you were going to give me your account of those.

Dr Al-Chalabi: Throughout the nineties reports were consistently coming from Iraq through NGOs or the United Nations of the increased rate of fatalities of the Iraqi children, of the deformities of the Iraqi newborns, the genetic disorders in the children which were in the areas where depleted uranium was used by the British and American forces. Some horrific pictures were coming out. A lot of people were talking about what is happening to the Iraqi people but nobody was doing anything. *** I felt that the moral conscience of the international community had gone into hibernation. Nobody wanted to do anything about the Iraqis, and of course to everybody Iraq was Saddam Hussein, which is not the case. The only person, I was aware, that was trying to do something about it was Dr Amineh. Her work struck a chord with my own conscience. She was trying to basically create a database in the areas where Iraqi children had been born with deformities and genetic disorders. She was trying to get experts in order to help analyse the data. She was trying to obviously focus attention on what was happening. She was the only person who was doing something about it, and I was aware that the World Health Organisation refused to undertake such a project, you know, to find out was the depleted uranium causing genetic disorders or not. The Atomic Energy refused to do it, and the position in here [indicating folder], as you know, our Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, says that the British Armed Forces have been provided with protective gear against depleted uranium effects. The Minister of the Armed Forces, Doug Henderson, says the health care of the Iraqi nationals is the responsibility of the Iraqi Government, including testing for any presence of depleted uranium. Now, the dilemma was the Iraqi Government could not import that test equipment, so I wanted to help this lady's work. That was a conscious decision, a charitable decision and a humanitarian decision. That was the only reason, I have to say, nothing else.

Q108  Sir Philip Mawer: How did you first come to know of her?

Dr Al-Chalabi: The work she was doing was common knowledge among the community, and I attend lectures and read, but the work was well known among the Iraqi people.

Q109  Sir Philip Mawer: Did you meet her personally?

Dr Al-Chalabi: I have never met the lady.

Q110  Sir Philip Mawer: The contributions you made totalling $120,000 were intended then, you are saying,…?

Dr Al-Chalabi: To help her with her research, to help the Iraqi people.

Q111  Mr Al-Mukhtar: Perhaps you would like to refer to the flight cost.

Dr Al-Chalabi: The flight cost was something like, I said, $450,000. Now, I want to add something. In February, somewhere in the middle of February, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum of Dubai approached the offices, I think, of the Mariam appeal and he said he will donate an Emirates flight free of charge. Therefore, it is only then that the funds were available for me to help, and this is how the money was raised for the flight. Now I decided to make a donation for this lady.

Mr Al-Mukhtar: So the money was raised for the flight. The flight was cancelled. Before it was cancelled there was a donation for the flight, so there was this excess money, and then subsequently the flight was cancelled, so there was this money which was then donated to the —

Q112  Sir Philip Mawer: I am still not absolutely clear about this. I would appreciate your help in getting it clear. What I understand you to be saying is that—where did the money come from, as it were, which you have described as being available for the flight?

Dr Al-Chalabi: The commission money. There were two sets of money: the money which came from the selling of the vouchers, which eventually—

Q113  Sir Philip Mawer: Yes, I understood, and that was the £1,000 that you mentioned, was part of the voucher arrangement?

Dr Al-Chalabi: The voucher arrangement, and the commission money.

Q114  Sir Philip Mawer: The commission money was the $470,000?

Dr Al-Chalabi: Mmm—well, take the Zureikat money out because I was not a party to that.

Q115  Sir Philip Mawer: Understood, okay, $400,000 then, say.

Dr Al-Chalabi: The initial—yes, excluding the deal, the oil deal, between Zureikat and Fortum.

Q116  Sir Philip Mawer: Understood, so if the total payments of commission were, as I understand them, to have been $472,000 in round terms….

Dr Al-Chalabi: Yes.

Q117  Sir Philip Mawer: ….and the 70,000 was the amount transferred to Mr Zureikat, that leaves about $400,000.

Dr Al-Chalabi: Correct.

Q118  Sir Philip Mawer: And you are saying—are you saying? I believe you to be saying—that that money was intended to cover the cost of the flight.

Dr Al-Chalabi: Initially, yes.

Q119  Sir Philip Mawer: But subsequently—

Dr Al-Chalabi: In February.