12-08-2005, 02:20 AM
New firms, clues in cash-oil
The Asian Age India | Seema Mustafa
New Delhi: Mase-field AG, the Switzerland-based group that the Volcker Committee report alleges handled the oil kickbacks for external affairs minister Natwar Singh and the Congress party separately, <b>has also emerged in the report as the "underlying financier" for a little known company, Quantum Holding (L) Limited.</b>
The Volcker Committee, in its investigations into Iraq's oil-for-food programme, found that many of the letters of credit executed under the programme were financed by companies that did not appear on the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) contracts or the documentation made available to the United Nations.
An explanatory note suggests that the committee focused on identifying underlying financiers of oil purchases during the surcharge period, and was able to identify underlying financiers for approximately 75 per cent of the letters of credit issued at the time.
<b>Quantum is a company based in Italy. </b>According to the Volcker Committee, much of this information was provided by banks in Switzerland and included letter of credit customer files and bank account statements.
Quantum Holding (L) Ltd, the report claims, lifted 1,909,909 barrels of oil for a contract value of $39,347,987. It allegedly paid a surcharge of $300,000 against the total surcharge of $572,973 levied on it. The payment was deposited by Quantum Holdings in Fransabank on March 30, 2001, the UN-ordered probe report claims.
Masefield was identified by the Volcker Committee as the alleged underlying financier for this company. The Switzerland-based group has not handled oil transactions for any other company, according to the information available through the Volcker report, <b>except Quantum Holding (L) Ltd, Mr Natwar Singh, and the Congress party.</b>
The Congress party and Mr Natwar Singh have strongly denied being involved. The Volcker Committee report is categorical that Masefield AG, as the contracting company, <b>allegedly helped the "India-Congress party" lift 1,001,000 barrels of the total 4,000,000 barrels allocated. The AICC treasurer from 2001 was Mr Moti Lal Vora, who is currently not in Delhi and remained unavailable to comment</b> on the transaction. Masefield has not responded to the Volcker Committee's notice, and has been listed in the report as a company that failed to respond. In fact, while the trail in Mr Natwar Singh's case leads to Hamdan Export and Mr Andleeb Sehgal, a close friend of his son Jagat Singh, there is not much in the records obtained by the committee to shed light on the Congress party route.
Masefield, described by the Volcker report as the financier for Quantum, says it is a group that "is engaged in the business of energy" and claims to have offices in Switzerland, UK, US, Canada, South Africa, UAE and Singapore. The website claims Masefield AG is a specialised energy company. "Our primary businesses are crude oil, condensates and oil products trading, oil futures, price risk management and associated services," the website states. The Congress party, the Volcker report alleges, was given four contracts in four different phases of the programme. <b>Of these, only the first contract, in Phase 10, of 1,000,000 oil barrels, was lifted for the Congress party by Masefield AG,</b> the Volcker report claims.
Mr Natwar Singh had visited Iraq on a goodwill mission as the chairperson of the AICC foreign cell in 2001-2002, when the oil deal was said to have been transacted.
http://www.asianage.com/?INA=2:175:175:190425
© 2005 The Asian Age
http://www.iht.com/getina/files/287141.html
The Asian Age India | Seema Mustafa
New Delhi: Mase-field AG, the Switzerland-based group that the Volcker Committee report alleges handled the oil kickbacks for external affairs minister Natwar Singh and the Congress party separately, <b>has also emerged in the report as the "underlying financier" for a little known company, Quantum Holding (L) Limited.</b>
The Volcker Committee, in its investigations into Iraq's oil-for-food programme, found that many of the letters of credit executed under the programme were financed by companies that did not appear on the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) contracts or the documentation made available to the United Nations.
An explanatory note suggests that the committee focused on identifying underlying financiers of oil purchases during the surcharge period, and was able to identify underlying financiers for approximately 75 per cent of the letters of credit issued at the time.
<b>Quantum is a company based in Italy. </b>According to the Volcker Committee, much of this information was provided by banks in Switzerland and included letter of credit customer files and bank account statements.
Quantum Holding (L) Ltd, the report claims, lifted 1,909,909 barrels of oil for a contract value of $39,347,987. It allegedly paid a surcharge of $300,000 against the total surcharge of $572,973 levied on it. The payment was deposited by Quantum Holdings in Fransabank on March 30, 2001, the UN-ordered probe report claims.
Masefield was identified by the Volcker Committee as the alleged underlying financier for this company. The Switzerland-based group has not handled oil transactions for any other company, according to the information available through the Volcker report, <b>except Quantum Holding (L) Ltd, Mr Natwar Singh, and the Congress party.</b>
The Congress party and Mr Natwar Singh have strongly denied being involved. The Volcker Committee report is categorical that Masefield AG, as the contracting company, <b>allegedly helped the "India-Congress party" lift 1,001,000 barrels of the total 4,000,000 barrels allocated. The AICC treasurer from 2001 was Mr Moti Lal Vora, who is currently not in Delhi and remained unavailable to comment</b> on the transaction. Masefield has not responded to the Volcker Committee's notice, and has been listed in the report as a company that failed to respond. In fact, while the trail in Mr Natwar Singh's case leads to Hamdan Export and Mr Andleeb Sehgal, a close friend of his son Jagat Singh, there is not much in the records obtained by the committee to shed light on the Congress party route.
Masefield, described by the Volcker report as the financier for Quantum, says it is a group that "is engaged in the business of energy" and claims to have offices in Switzerland, UK, US, Canada, South Africa, UAE and Singapore. The website claims Masefield AG is a specialised energy company. "Our primary businesses are crude oil, condensates and oil products trading, oil futures, price risk management and associated services," the website states. The Congress party, the Volcker report alleges, was given four contracts in four different phases of the programme. <b>Of these, only the first contract, in Phase 10, of 1,000,000 oil barrels, was lifted for the Congress party by Masefield AG,</b> the Volcker report claims.
Mr Natwar Singh had visited Iraq on a goodwill mission as the chairperson of the AICC foreign cell in 2001-2002, when the oil deal was said to have been transacted.
http://www.asianage.com/?INA=2:175:175:190425
© 2005 The Asian Age
http://www.iht.com/getina/files/287141.html