Saddam Hussein withdrew more than $1 billion from Iraq's central bank hours before US forces invaded, and some of the money may be funding the Iraqi insurgency against US troops, ABC News has reported.
Quoting a letter purportedly written by Saddam and obtained by ABC News, and citing US officials, ABC News said yesterday that $132 million of funds withdrawn by the former Iraqi leader is unaccounted for and may be being used by his followers to fund attacks against US forces.
ABC News said the handwritten letter from Saddam, dated March 19th, 2003, was found by US agents in the files of the Iraqi central bank, and obtained by ABC News.
"We are giving, with this written note, permission for Mr. Qusay Saddam Hussein and Mr. Hekmat Mezban Ibrahiem to receive the following amounts of money: 1 - $920 million. 2 - €90 million. To protect and save them from American aggression," the letter said, according to an English translation provided by ABC News.
One US official said he was not aware of the letter, but that it had been known and reported for some time that Saddam and other top Iraqi officials had taken money out of the central bank before the war.