Prosecutors seek to strip war criminal of profits
Oct 3, 2012, 2:25 PM
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Prosecutors in the Netherlands are asking judges to confiscate just over (EURO)1 million in profits made by a businessman from selling chemicals to Saddam Hussein that the Iraqi dictator turned into poison gas.
A Dutch court convicted Frans van Anraat of war crimes in 2005. He is serving a 16 1/2 -year prison sentence.
Judges ruled that he was Iraq’s sole supplier of a chemical called TDG, or thiodiglycol, used to make mustard gas that was later unleashed in a deadly attack on Kurdish rebels.
Prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday the latest request is an appeal after judges earlier ordered a smaller amount confiscated.
It is unclear whether they will recover the profits. Van Anraat claims he spent his money fleeing from country to country after Saddam’s regime fell.
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