Smash hit

Borradori remains defensive: “Is it worse to work as a trustee of Saddam Hussein than to work for a mafia godfather or a drug trader, or for Albanian serial killers, for people trading radioactive waste? If the answer is yes, everyone in Switzerland should destroy their passports.”

Though he declined to discuss his work for Saddam in detail, saying he “could not remember”, other sources provided the documentary evidence of the money trail. The main entity was Mediterranean Enterprises Development Projects (Lugano), which had branches in New York, Tokyo, London, Paris and other centres. It in turn controlled about 300 other companies, mainly in Liechtenstein and Panama.

Three key companies, called Dumynta, Radistal and Technoservice International (Vaduz), were among those that received commissions and consultancy fees, handling at least £300m in the 1980s. Some payments, however, were staggered over the life of the contracts and stretched into the 1990s. There were, for example, commission payments related to a missile site near Mosul, in northern Iraq, which, according to Italian authorities, was not completed until the mid-1990s — even though such work was supposed to stop after the Gulf war.

To cover the tracks, much of the money passed through account number 70513 at the Banca del Gottardo in Nassau in the Bahamas — the Satan account. One banking slip indicated a payment as recently as December 1998.

There were 47 other bank accounts linked to the offshore network. Borradori was usually president and signatory for the companies, and the day-to-day transactions were handled by an accountant for him.

But the man in control for the Iraqi regime was al-Mahdi. Something of a playboy, al-Mahdi jetted around Europe, while in Iraq Saddam used some of the millions to build extravagant palaces.

Saddam constructed at least 50 palaces, with expensive if tasteless fittings. His son Uday bought scores of luxury cars, including a red Rolls-Royce Corniche. And millions more went to cronies.

Saddam, however, appears to have suspected al-Mahdi of stealing from the accounts. He was summoned to Baghdad and beheaded for theft and behaviour disrespectful to Islam.

“Saddam Hussein is a blood-thirsty, crazy man. I hated what he did to Saad al-Mahdi,” said Borradori, who still shudders at the memory. “This poor young man. To cut the head off such a close relative. I can’t understand that.”

After al-Mahdi’s death the overt tier of the network was run down; but the secretive side continued. Though who took control after the restructuring is disputed, it seems Saddam’s system of raking off commissions continued.

One document from Radistal, dated March 3, 1994, and later seized by Italian police, stated: “The new contracts with Dassault and Thomson have been signed in B (Baghdad) last week. The consultancy has been fixed at 7.5% of the contracts.”

According to Borradori, the word “consultancy” was used to mean the commission or kickback on a deal that would go to Saddam or his interests.

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