AM - Friday, 11 February , 2005 08:28:01 TONY EASTLEY: To a special investigation of the company behind Xstrata, the global mining giant bidding for the nickel, copper and uranium company, WMC Resources.
Xstrata's $8-billion takeover bid for WMC is being undermined by the reputation of its controlling shareholder, the secretive Swiss commodities trader Glencore.
Last year, a CIA report raised allegations that Glencore paid millions in illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime.
Glencore was founded by a notorious fugitive from US justice - a man facing jail for tax fraud, racketeering, and named as an arms trader, before being mysteriously pardoned by former US President Bill Clinton.
Finance Correspondent Stephen Long reports.
STEPHEN LONG: Mention Xstrata and the name Glencore soon follows. Xstrata was once a subsidiary of Glencore, and Glencore now has a 40 per cent interest in Xstrata. The two companies share a common chairman, Willy Strothotte.
Glencore markets Xstrata's output. And Glencore is the reason why there's growing unease about Xstrata buying WMC Resources and its rich deposits of uranium, the reason why Trade Minister Mark Vaile is opposing its takeover bid.
Glencore's history reads like a spy novel.
From its foundation 31 years ago, the Swiss commodities trader has been accused of illegal dealings with rogue states: apartheid South Africa, Communist Russia, Iran, and Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
Just five months ago, the CIA released a comprehensive report on the financing of Saddam Hussein's regime.
It cites detailed records held by Iraq's state run oil monopoly, SOMO, which say Glencore paid more than US $3.2-million in illegal kickbacks to obtain oil in violation of sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
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