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Father, son accused of arms sale to Saddam
From Terry Frieden
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An Iraqi native living in California and his son have been arrested in connection with the sale of millions of dollars' worth of gunboats to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's government.
Sabri Yakou, a U.S. resident, was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, and flown to Washington overnight to face charges of violating the arms embargo against Iraq and international arms trafficking laws. Yakou is accused of negotiating and arranging contracts, purchases, sales and transfers of six armored patrol boats worth an estimated $11 million to Saddam's government, officials said. Yakou appeared briefly Wednesday afternoon before a federal magistrate judge in Washington and was ordered to appear for formal arraignment October 30. After surrendering his travel documents, he was allowed to remain in the custody of a daughter who lives near Washington. An attorney for Yakou told reporters his client was unfairly lured into the United States by authorities who told him he was being returned only because his son was facing charges. "He's treated like a turkey at a turkey shoot," charged defense attorney John Moustakas. His son, Regard Yakou, was arrested Saturday in Baghdad, Iraq, and remained in U.S. custody, according to officials of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Regard Yakou is a naturalized U.S. citizen with homes in San Diego and Walnut Creek, California. The father and son say their business addresses are in Danville, California, and in Singapore. The charges were the first brought by U.S. authorities stemming from the search of records by customs agents in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam's government in April. Fifteen Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been in Iraq to help identify and locate American citizens and entities involved in violating U.S. laws or sanctions in connection with illicit shipments of weapons to Iraq. Acting Assistant Secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Michael Garcia issued a statement vowing to pursue the investigation. "Today we are sending a message to those U.S. companies and individuals that may have helped arm the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein," Garcia said. "ICE teams have been in Iraq since the war began in March, where they've been working with the Department of Defense to peel back the layers of Saddam's covert weapons procurement network and track down his suppliers." An affidavit filed in court by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Thomas Kim said U.S. agents in Iraq uncovered the scheme in July 1, 2003. The document said Yakou met with federal agents in Baghdad and readily acknowledged he had been in the business of supplying parts to Iraq since 1955. According to the affidavit, Yakou said he held a British passport but was a "green card" holder and U.S. resident for 23 years, and that he could be an "American anytime I want to." Yakou's firm, P.T. Gulf International, was to be paid almost $11 million to build six armed patrol boats for the Iraqi navy, the affidavit said. Three of the gunboats were built in Baghdad and deployed to Basra. The other three boats were not completed. Yakou said Saddam's government owed him $3 million when the regime was overthrown, according to the affidavit. Yakou told officials he had received parts from Malaysia, Singapore and Germany. He said he had also sold Dutch compressors to Iraq. In a meeting with federal agents in August, both Sabri and Regard Yakou told authorities they had encountered difficulties in obtaining materials for the gunboats from Malaysia and that to get around the embargo "everything had to be shipped through Jordan," the affidavit said. U.S. agents said they have a document from 2000 in which Sabri Yakou explained his motives. "My main goal was (and there should be no doubt in this) to serve this Nation which is dear and loved by me and to transfer new industry (technology transfer) and train the Iraqi workforce in this new technology," the affidavit quoted Yakou's letter as saying. "The illegal brokering of arms and weapons to our enemies is a serious and deadly business," said Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray in a statement. If convicted, both men face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
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