Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, April 1998, Pages 87-88

Special Report

The Mysterious Amman Massacre May Be Linked to Funds Embezzled by Saddam's Murdered Sons-in-Law

By Mohammad AL-Kattan

Since Jan. 18, news of the massacre in Amman, Jordan of four Iraqi and four Egyptian nationals has been trickling out. At first, it was thought that the intended victim was the Iraqi Embassy's chargí d'affaires in Amman, Mr. Hikmet Al-Hajou, probably due to an Iraqi political power struggle. However, as pieces of the puzzle were fitted together, the motive for this massacre pointed away from minor players in an Iraqi political power struggle. Rather, it pointed directly to President Saddam Hussain, his two sons, Uday and Qusay, and millions of missing dollars.

To understand this connection, we must go back to 1982. In that year, Hussein Kamel Al-Magid (later Iraqi minister of armaments and industry and Saddam Hussain's eldest soninlaw) and his brother, Saddam Kamel Al-Magid (later an actor and Saddam's younger soninlaw), were privates in the Iraqi army working as truck drivers during the Iran-Iraq war.

Like them, their uncle Hassan Ali Al-Magid (cousin to Saddam Hussain and the general who bombed the Kurds with chemical weapons) was from the town of Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussain.

Hassan Al-Magid enlisted his nephews in the Republican Guard as presidential motorcade motorcycle drivers. Through the years, the brothers moved up in the ranks of the political elite. Both Hussein and Saddam Al Magid further insured their positions by marrying two of Saddam Hussain's daughters.

In May 1995, the two brothers and their wives defected to Jordan. They are believed to have taken with them hundreds of millions of dollars. At the time, Hussein Al-Magid had not only been serving as the Iraqi minister of armaments and industry. He also had been managing Saddam Hussain's personal moneyproducing operations involving the smuggling of goods, medicine and food into Iraq and selling them on the black market.

However, Uday Hussain suddenly reclaimed the family moneymaking arrangements and management responsibilities for himself, thereby signaling to Hussein Al-Magid that he was out of favor with Saddam Hussain and his regime. This was a primary factor in Hussein Al-Magid's decision to defect to Jordan.

The defection seemed to give credence to rumors against their uncle, Hassan Al-Magid, who remained in Baghdad. These rumors alleged a twophase conspiracy by the Al-Magid family against Saddam Hussain and his regime.

The defection of both Hussein and Saddam Al-Magid was the first phase. Their mission was to organize, outside Iraq, the ranks of the Ba'ath party as well as the regime's expatriate community in a united struggle against Saddam Hussain.

The second phase consisted of Hassan Al-Magid orchestrating an attempt to topple Saddam Hussain's regime. Such rumors must surely have been devastating as well as lifethreatening to Hassan Al-Magid, who was forced constantly to reaffirm his loyalty and allegiance to Saddam Hussain.

After such rumors began to circulate, the test of Hassan Al-Magid's loyalty and allegiance to Saddam Hussain soon followed. Within months, both of the Al-Magid brothers and their wives returned to Baghdad.

Their decision to return to Iraq was the result of several factors. First, Hussein Al-Magid found himself politically isolated, since none of the Iraqi opposition groups were willing to communicate with or recognize him. After all, he was the highest ranking Iraqi officer and the closest family member to Saddam Hussain ever to defect. In addition, both Hussein and Saddam Al-Magid's wives were longing to return to Iraq.

Saddam Hussain pledged amnesty, forgiveness and safe passage in exchange for information regarding the location of the missing millions. With this agreement, the couples returned to Iraq in February 1996.

However, their return was not so simple after all. Saddam Hussain apparently made it clear that the Al-Magid family must cleanse its honor with blood. Therefore, their uncle, Hassan Al-Magid, along with Uday and Qusay Hussain, led an armed attack on the residence of Hussein and Saddam Al-Magid in Baghdad which resulted in the death of both Hussein and Saddam, as well as some other members of their immediate family.

Loyalty and Family Honor

With this action, Hassan Al-Magid's loyalty was confirmed, his family's honor was restored and Saddam Hussain's grip over his own clan was reaffirmed. However, in his haste to prove his loyalty, Hassan Al-Magid did not give Uday Hussain enough time to locate the millions of dollars Hussein Al-Magid had taken outside Iraq. It was the quest for those missing millions that led to the death of the eight Iraqi and Egyptian nationals in Jordan last Jan. 18.

In the past few years, Uday, as a result of permanent physical injuries sustained from an unsuccessful attempt on his life in December of 1996, has become more involved in managing his father's smuggling operations and black market revenues.

The profits are administered by Uday and used to reward loyal supporters, including the Republican Guard, the Special Republican Guard, Saddam's private security force known as "Saddam's Martyrs," and the tribes from which these men are recruited. Therefore, the missing funds are a significant factor in propping up Saddam Hussain's regime.

The link between Hussein Al-Magid's missing millions and the January massacre in Amman is provided by three wealthy Iraqi brothers, Nader, Namier and Nadmi Ochi. Nader Ochi was executed by the Iraqi regime a few years ago on suspicion of embezzlement.

This was a premeditated and professional assassination.

Namier Ochi, one of the victims of the massacre, was a wealthy businessman who lived in Lebanon. Nadmi Ochi is a millionaire financier who lives in London and is involved in various multimillion dollar projects throughout the Middle East.

Nadmi Ochi owns 20 percent of a Jordanian bank, has invested $80 million in an Amman hotel project, and had very strong financial connections with Sami George Toma, victim and owner of the villa where the massacre took place.

Hussein Al-Magid was believed to have entrusted the millions of dollars to one or both of the Ochi brothers for investment and safe keeping, a logical choice given their connections. When the Al-Magid brothers returned to Baghdad, the funds remained behind. Upon Hussein Al-Magid's murder, however, the funds were not returned either to Hussein Al-Magid's family or to the Iraqi government.

On the evening of the massacre, several people gathered for a dinner party at the villa of Sami George Toma. Among the invited guests were Namier and Nadmi Ochi, but a lastminute delay prevented Nadmi from attending.

Five of the dinner guests, who were Iraqis and had recently arrived from Baghdad, demanded that Namier return an unspecified but significant amount of money. Upon Namier's refusal, these four men proceeded to torture and execute the dinner guests.

The account of Anastasia Lydaki, a Greek live-in companion to Mr. Toma and sole survivor of the massacre, and subsequent police reports indicate that this was a premeditated and professional assassination since the killers brought with them ropes, surgical gloves, tape and knives. The seven other victims, in addition to Namier, included Iraqi Chargí d'Affaires Al-Hajou and his Egyptian wife; host Sami Toma; Mr. Toma's servant, also an Iraqi national; Sadeq Salim Sadez, an Iraqi Kurd; and two Egyptian nationals.

Two days before the massacre, Namier reportedly received guests from Iraq rumored to be from Uday and Qusay's entourage. The messengers are believed to have delivered a warning that action would be taken unless the funds were returned.

Further evidence indicating that the killings were ordered by Saddam Hussain's sons is that Mr. Al-Hajou, who was head of Iraqi intelligence in Kuwait prior to August 1990, arrived unexpectedly at the Toma villa after six murders already had occurred. Since he was chargí d'affaires and in Iraqi intelligence, it was very likely that he was aware of the identity of the assassins. Therefore, by killing him and his wife, the assassins sought to ensure that their identities would not be revealed.

Within hours of the crime, Saddam Hussain released all Jordanian prisoners in Iraq, perhaps signaling to the Jordanian government that this massacre was an internal Iraqi matter. For months prior to the release of these prisoners, King Hussein of Jordan had pleaded with Saddam Hussain for their release, only to be refused. Such action only supports the notion that Iraq wanted to signal that the killings were a private family matter with no international complications.

Ever since the fateful day in May 1995 when Saddam's sonsinlaw defected, they became marked men, not just for their disloyalty to Saddam's regime, but also because of the millions of dollars they took with them. As a result, anyone who came in contact with them or the money also was imperiled.

The Ochi brothers' downfall was their willingness to be involved with Hussein Al-Magid and these funds. Now, with the Al-Magid brothers, members of their immediate family, Namier Ochi and seven other presumably innocent individuals dead, the question still remains unanswered as to what happened to the missing millions.

As U.N. sanctions take their toll on Iraq, Saddam Hussain's need for such funds is likely to increase. As a result, his sons' search for the missing assets may intensify, with continuing deadly consequences.