In the days before the fall of Baghdad, and the explosion of looting on the streets of the capital, a far more damaging form of looting was already under way as Iraqi bank accounts were ransacked and millions of dollars were transferred into private accounts abroad, Middle Eastern banking sources said yesterday.
The flurry of transfers that have been spotted, going mainly through Europe to accounts in Jordanian and Palestinian banks, are thought to be the tip of a vast financial iceberg, kept afloat by Saddam Hussein, his family and his regime for more than two decades.
US investigators are scrambling to track down the missing money, estimated at between $5bn and $40bn (£3.2m and £25.bn), but some financial experts believe much of it has gone for good, and may have slipped into the hands of extremist groups such as al-Qaida.
One official who has seen reports from Middle Eastern banks told the Guardian he had seen details of at least five transfers of between $100,000 and $1m going to a single bank whose name he provided but did not want published.
"We saw it pick up right at the beginning of the shooting war. Then it really peaked the day before and the day of the fall of Saddam's statue [in Baghdad]. We haven't really seen anything since," the official said.
"My impression is there is a lot more going on, because this is not something we were looking for particularly. It just went across our radar. And as far as I know there is nothing illegal about the transfers."
