Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
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Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Apparently Amal's Lebanese Uncle is up on corruption charges in France and has applied for a court order to attend the Clooney event in late October - see the French article below. He is also an arms dealer - see the Wikipedia link below. The article at the bottom from the Telegraph in English talks further about his arms dealings and the corruption charges. Wonder if Stan knew about this guy? Not good for George's image and this is headline news today in France widely reported in the French media. Google it.
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Google Translation
Ziad Takieddine is Uncle Amal Alamuddin, wife of George Clooney
Ziad Takieddine asked the French court to lift his supervision to attend a given in London in honor of the marriage of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin reception. It is none other than the uncle of the new Mrs. Clooney.
Ziad Takieddine, the Franco-Lebanese businessman involved in various political and financial affairs is invited to a reception in London on October 25 by the parents of Amal Alamuddin in honor of her marriage to George Clooney, reveals what Friday, September 26 the daily Nice Matin. Ziad Takieddine is indeed ... the uncle of the bride.
A request to attend the wedding
Ziad Takieddine called for the lifting of his supervision to attend the dinner. "We filed a request for a show of hands of his supervision to allow Takieddine to get to his niece's wedding with George Clooney," he told Jean-Claude Guidicelli, one of the lawyers Franco Lebanese daily. Ziad Takieddine would have also requested permission to leave the country.
Put on probation through the financial part of the Karachi affair, Ziad Takieddine and five other defendants are scheduled to appear before a criminal court for "abuse of corporate assets, complicity and concealment" about the funding of presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur in 1995 because of this, it is forbidden to leave French soil. "The investigation is complete, said his lawyer, Ziad Takieddine responded to all notices, maintenance of judicial review seems inept," concluded (...) Me Guidicelli.
Ziad Takieddine was not George Clooney's wedding this weekend. Therefore remains whether it will be the surprise guest for dinner in late October.
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And here's more about him in English. It's clear where the Alamuddin family's wealth comes from! LOL:
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Briton in divorce with French arms broker husband could hold key to 'Karachi affair'
An investigating magistrate in the case yesterday questioned Nicola Johnson, 50, who is estranged from Ziad Takieddine, a Franco-Lebanese businessman and her husband of 30 years.
She alleges that Mr Takieddine, a middle man in huge arms and petrol contracts between France and several Middle Eastern countries, has hidden his true fortune in a web of offshore accounts.
She is demanding a €25 million (£22 million) cut of his estate, which her lawyer estimates to be €104 million. However, Mr Takieddine declares only relatively modest earnings of around €200,000 per year.
Despite making use of a string of opulent properties, whose value in France alone is estimated to be €40 million, it is alleged that he paid no income or wealth tax in the country last year.
Miss Johnson, about whom little is known, is fighting a 2009 French court ruling that provides her with just €1,000 per month in alimony.
“[He] has put in place a highly sophisticated system to hide his revenues and his real assets to French authorities,” her lawyer, William Bourdon, alleged yesterday. “He long claimed that the majority of his assets didn’t belong to him and that he only had temporary use of them as part of a work contract,” he told Libération newspaper. Earlier this month, a French family court judge ordered all assets that Mr Takieddine held “in common” with his wife to be frozen because of the risk of him selling them off before an appeal ruling on Sept 15.
These assets include Warwick House, in Holland Park, west London, estimated to be worth more than £17 million, and a palatial Paris pied-à-terre in the chic Avenue Georges-Mandel worth an estimate €12 million, whose nominal owner is one Alain F., Mr Takieddine’s butler.
The judge mentions properties in Antibes on the Riviera, and money from the sale of other Paris flats and the couple’s private jet.
Mr Takieddine itemised assets worth €97.2 million in a statement he signed in 2008 as part of a loan application, since obtained by Mediapart, an investigative news website.
Against the backdrop of this marital dispute, French judges hope to lift the lid on Mr Takieddine’s alleged role in the “Karachi affair” – a political funding scandal involving alleged kickbacks on a 1994 arms sale to Pakistan and the death of French naval engineers in a bomb attack.
Examining magistrates opened an inquiry last year into the submarine sale, and another involving frigates to Saudi Arabia. They are looking into whether some of the large sums officially destined as commissions to officials served as illegal party funding in France.
Seized documents allege that parts of the “commissions” – legal under French law at the time – were siphoned off to help fund the 1994 presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur, then prime minister. Mr Sarkozy was his budget minister and campaign spokesman. Both men have flatly denied allegations of involvement. Mr Sarkozy has previously described suggestions of his involvement in illegal kickbacks as “grotesque, ridiculous and a fable”.
When Jacques Chirac won the election, it is alleged that he punished Mr Balladur by halting the remaining payments to senior Pakistani figures.
Mr Takieddine acknowledges receiving payment from a sale of frigates to Saudi Arabia, a contract authorised in 1994 by Mr Sarkozy. Documents obtained by Mediapart suggest he received €91 million between 1997 and 1998. France also signed a deal that year to sell three submarines to Pakistan. Several witnesses have told the magistrates that Mr Takieddine was imposed by the Balladur camp as an intermediary. He denies any role.
In May 2002, 11 French submarine engineers and four Pakistanis were killed in a bomb attack in Karachi, blamed on al-Qaeda terrorists. But a separate investigation is under way into whether it was a revenge attack by disgruntled officials for the non-payment of sweeteners.
Yesterday judge Renaud Van Ruymbeke was expected to quiz Miss Johnson on her husband’s professional movements and way of life at the time of the submarine deal. He was also expected to ask about her knowledge of where he placed his fortune. The affair is embarrassing for the president as Mr Takieddine is close to several of his nearest allies. Mediapart recently published photos of the head of his UMP party, Jean-François Copé, at Mr Takieddine’s Riviera property.
Mr Takieddine said he had “no comment”. “Let’s wait for justice to run its course and it will all fizzle out,” he said.
Link here:
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Google Translation
Ziad Takieddine is Uncle Amal Alamuddin, wife of George Clooney
Ziad Takieddine asked the French court to lift his supervision to attend a given in London in honor of the marriage of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin reception. It is none other than the uncle of the new Mrs. Clooney.
Ziad Takieddine, the Franco-Lebanese businessman involved in various political and financial affairs is invited to a reception in London on October 25 by the parents of Amal Alamuddin in honor of her marriage to George Clooney, reveals what Friday, September 26 the daily Nice Matin. Ziad Takieddine is indeed ... the uncle of the bride.
A request to attend the wedding
Ziad Takieddine called for the lifting of his supervision to attend the dinner. "We filed a request for a show of hands of his supervision to allow Takieddine to get to his niece's wedding with George Clooney," he told Jean-Claude Guidicelli, one of the lawyers Franco Lebanese daily. Ziad Takieddine would have also requested permission to leave the country.
Put on probation through the financial part of the Karachi affair, Ziad Takieddine and five other defendants are scheduled to appear before a criminal court for "abuse of corporate assets, complicity and concealment" about the funding of presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur in 1995 because of this, it is forbidden to leave French soil. "The investigation is complete, said his lawyer, Ziad Takieddine responded to all notices, maintenance of judicial review seems inept," concluded (...) Me Guidicelli.
Ziad Takieddine was not George Clooney's wedding this weekend. Therefore remains whether it will be the surprise guest for dinner in late October.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
And here's more about him in English. It's clear where the Alamuddin family's wealth comes from! LOL:
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Briton in divorce with French arms broker husband could hold key to 'Karachi affair'
A British woman acrimoniously divorcing a French millionaire arms broker could hold the key to the “Karachi affair” that threatens to poison the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy.
An investigating magistrate in the case yesterday questioned Nicola Johnson, 50, who is estranged from Ziad Takieddine, a Franco-Lebanese businessman and her husband of 30 years.
She alleges that Mr Takieddine, a middle man in huge arms and petrol contracts between France and several Middle Eastern countries, has hidden his true fortune in a web of offshore accounts.
She is demanding a €25 million (£22 million) cut of his estate, which her lawyer estimates to be €104 million. However, Mr Takieddine declares only relatively modest earnings of around €200,000 per year.
Despite making use of a string of opulent properties, whose value in France alone is estimated to be €40 million, it is alleged that he paid no income or wealth tax in the country last year.
Miss Johnson, about whom little is known, is fighting a 2009 French court ruling that provides her with just €1,000 per month in alimony.
“[He] has put in place a highly sophisticated system to hide his revenues and his real assets to French authorities,” her lawyer, William Bourdon, alleged yesterday. “He long claimed that the majority of his assets didn’t belong to him and that he only had temporary use of them as part of a work contract,” he told Libération newspaper. Earlier this month, a French family court judge ordered all assets that Mr Takieddine held “in common” with his wife to be frozen because of the risk of him selling them off before an appeal ruling on Sept 15.
These assets include Warwick House, in Holland Park, west London, estimated to be worth more than £17 million, and a palatial Paris pied-à-terre in the chic Avenue Georges-Mandel worth an estimate €12 million, whose nominal owner is one Alain F., Mr Takieddine’s butler.
The judge mentions properties in Antibes on the Riviera, and money from the sale of other Paris flats and the couple’s private jet.
Mr Takieddine itemised assets worth €97.2 million in a statement he signed in 2008 as part of a loan application, since obtained by Mediapart, an investigative news website.
Against the backdrop of this marital dispute, French judges hope to lift the lid on Mr Takieddine’s alleged role in the “Karachi affair” – a political funding scandal involving alleged kickbacks on a 1994 arms sale to Pakistan and the death of French naval engineers in a bomb attack.
Examining magistrates opened an inquiry last year into the submarine sale, and another involving frigates to Saudi Arabia. They are looking into whether some of the large sums officially destined as commissions to officials served as illegal party funding in France.
Seized documents allege that parts of the “commissions” – legal under French law at the time – were siphoned off to help fund the 1994 presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur, then prime minister. Mr Sarkozy was his budget minister and campaign spokesman. Both men have flatly denied allegations of involvement. Mr Sarkozy has previously described suggestions of his involvement in illegal kickbacks as “grotesque, ridiculous and a fable”.
When Jacques Chirac won the election, it is alleged that he punished Mr Balladur by halting the remaining payments to senior Pakistani figures.
Mr Takieddine acknowledges receiving payment from a sale of frigates to Saudi Arabia, a contract authorised in 1994 by Mr Sarkozy. Documents obtained by Mediapart suggest he received €91 million between 1997 and 1998. France also signed a deal that year to sell three submarines to Pakistan. Several witnesses have told the magistrates that Mr Takieddine was imposed by the Balladur camp as an intermediary. He denies any role.
In May 2002, 11 French submarine engineers and four Pakistanis were killed in a bomb attack in Karachi, blamed on al-Qaeda terrorists. But a separate investigation is under way into whether it was a revenge attack by disgruntled officials for the non-payment of sweeteners.
Yesterday judge Renaud Van Ruymbeke was expected to quiz Miss Johnson on her husband’s professional movements and way of life at the time of the submarine deal. He was also expected to ask about her knowledge of where he placed his fortune. The affair is embarrassing for the president as Mr Takieddine is close to several of his nearest allies. Mediapart recently published photos of the head of his UMP party, Jean-François Copé, at Mr Takieddine’s Riviera property.
Mr Takieddine said he had “no comment”. “Let’s wait for justice to run its course and it will all fizzle out,” he said.
Last edited by Nicky80 on Wed 25 Feb 2015, 23:10; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : added text and google translation)
globalchick- Clooneyfan
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
How interesting. Who knew?
Alisonfan- Ooh, Mr Clooney!
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
I don't see where Amal is connected anywhere in this except by geneology. Does he give her money? Is she hiding assets for him in her name? Did he pay for her education? Was she a go-between in some nefarious deal?
No? Just a family member? Then... What's your point?
No? Just a family member? Then... What's your point?
Way2Old4Dis- Mastering the tao of Clooney
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
getting the feeling there's one or two peeps here that just don't like Amal, so sad
Picachu- Clooney-phile
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
There are those here who are looking for the smallest thing to indict Amal. Let's just say at the most she has a colorful family. Most of us do.
Donnamarie- Possibly more Clooney than George himself
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Atalante- Clooney-love. And they said it wouldn't last
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
I have a relative who was in jail.
Guess I'm doomed to go down that road too if you go by SOME people's evaluation that 1 + 1 = hell yea, she's a criminal too cause one criminal in the family = ALL criminals in the family!
Guess I'm doomed to go down that road too if you go by SOME people's evaluation that 1 + 1 = hell yea, she's a criminal too cause one criminal in the family = ALL criminals in the family!
LornaDoone- Moderator
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Soon, they will say that Amal's dog met the dog of a guy whose friend is a kidnapper and for that reason she's a bad person.
Doug Ross- Ooh, Mr Clooney!
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
I assume Ziad Takieddine is Amal's father's younger brother. He was born in the Druse village Bakeline. And in addition to facing corruption charges, being an arms dealer and hiding his huge fortune from his wife and not paying taxes, it seems Ziad also knew a certain Mr Khaddaffi and had arranged his trip to France and helped negotiating the release of the Bulgarian nuns.
Then there is the brother of Amal's mother, Akram Miknas. Another rich business-man living in Bahrain or is it Dubai?Akram has a son, Tarek, who is the cute one, walking George's dog.
Tarek married the daughter of a murdered Bulgarian tycoon, who was one of the richest men in Europe and maybee a maffia-boss.
The daughter didn't herit her father's money, the money went to her step-mother Darina Pavlova.
Darina has admitted to having an affair with Berlusconi, who called George as a witness in a sex trial was it? And wasn't there a connection between Elisabeta and Berlusconi as well?
The Bulgarian tycoon also had a sister and a nephew who was murdered in America if I remember correctly.
And Amal is representing Khaddafi's spy chief, demanding that he should be trialed outside Libya. And her uncle Ziad claims that the French stole Khaddafi's money
Yes, many of us come from colourful families. But Amal's family is more then that. This means we can rule one thing though, he didn't married because he wanted to go into Politics.
Then there is the brother of Amal's mother, Akram Miknas. Another rich business-man living in Bahrain or is it Dubai?Akram has a son, Tarek, who is the cute one, walking George's dog.
Tarek married the daughter of a murdered Bulgarian tycoon, who was one of the richest men in Europe and maybee a maffia-boss.
The daughter didn't herit her father's money, the money went to her step-mother Darina Pavlova.
Darina has admitted to having an affair with Berlusconi, who called George as a witness in a sex trial was it? And wasn't there a connection between Elisabeta and Berlusconi as well?
The Bulgarian tycoon also had a sister and a nephew who was murdered in America if I remember correctly.
And Amal is representing Khaddafi's spy chief, demanding that he should be trialed outside Libya. And her uncle Ziad claims that the French stole Khaddafi's money
Yes, many of us come from colourful families. But Amal's family is more then that. This means we can rule one thing though, he didn't married because he wanted to go into Politics.
Last edited by Silje on Fri 03 Oct 2014, 21:07; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : spelling)
Silje- More than a little bit enthusiastic about Clooney
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Never thought there was any likelihood of it anyway.
But it makes a good story, and loads more column inches of course
But it makes a good story, and loads more column inches of course
party animal - not!- George Clooney fan forever!
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Silje wrote:I assume Ziad Takieddine is Amal's father's younger brother. He was born in the Druse village Bakeline. And in addition to facing corruption charges, being an arms dealer and hiding his huge fortune from his wife and not paying taxes, it seems Ziad also knew a certain Mr Khaddaffi and had arranged his trip to France and helped negotiating the release of the Bulgarian nuns.
Then there is the brother of Amal's mother, Akram Miknas. Another rich business-man living in Bahrain or is it Dubai?Akram has a son, Tarek, who is the cute one, walking George's dog.
Tarek married the daughter of a murdered Bulgarian tycoon, who was one of the richest men in Europe and maybee a maffia-boss.
The daughter didn't herit her father's money, the money went to her step-mother Darina Pavlova.
Darina has admitted to having an affair with Berlusconi, who called George as a witness in a sex trial was it? And wasn't there a connection between Elisabeta and Berlusconi as well?
The Bulgarian tycoon also had a sister and a nephew who was murdered in America if I remember correctly.
And Amal is representing Khaddafi's spy chief, demanding that he should be trialed outside Libya. And her uncle Ziad claims that the French stole Khaddafi's money
Yes, many of us come from colourful families. But Amal's family is more then that. This means we can rule one thing though, he didn't married because he wanted to go into Politics.
With all that I'd say it was a safe bet politics was the last thing on his mind when he hooked up with Amal! HA!
LornaDoone- Moderator
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
This is ridiculous Amal is related to this guy big deal. I have seen no backlash to George. It was their wedding and they did it their way and a lot of people found it beautiful and classy.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Oh so Amal never visited her rich uncle in all his estates ?
Atalante- Clooney-love. And they said it wouldn't last
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Do you KNOW that she did? And if she did, what does that mean?
Donnamarie- Possibly more Clooney than George himself
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
We have a saying here in UK.....
"Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill"
This seems to apply here IMO.
"Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill"
This seems to apply here IMO.
Joanna- George Clooney fan forever!
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Joanna, we say that in the states too. And it definitely applies here.
Donnamarie- Possibly more Clooney than George himself
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Definitely applies she has nothing to do with what her uncle has done or will do.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Just because George chose to marry her doesn't mean everyone has to like/love her. It seems that there are many on here that think Amal can do no wrong. No one on here knows the real facts.
Cece42- Clooney Expert
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
And there are many on here who don't like Amal at all and don't think she can do anything right. As well as those who couldn't give half a shit about her if you fed them a lunch of laxative soup.
Way2Old4Dis- Mastering the tao of Clooney
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Way2 what a visual. Glad I wasn't eating.
Brahahahaha!
Brahahahaha!
LornaDoone- Moderator
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temp do not post
Way2Old4Dis wrote:And there are many on here who don't like Amal at all and don't think she can do anything right. As well as those who couldn't give half a shit about her if you fed them a lunch of laxative soup.
WOW I guess that says it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cece42- Clooney Expert
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Ziad Takieddine
Not sure where to post this but cannot find on this George Clooney fansite.
It seems the second woman George Clooney marry Amal Alamuddin has controversial arms dealer uncle who is involved in scandal.
Supplied Middle East with weapons.
Charged with fraud by French government. This is very damaging for George Clooney, no?
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ARMS DEALER FIXER ZIAD TAKIEDDINE REFUSED ENTRY TO UK AND RETURNED TO FRANCE.
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TOM HARPER [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER
Tuesday 31 December 2013
Ziad Takieddine, a Lebanese businessman who recently confessed to paying kick-backs to an aide of the former French President, was stopped at St Pancras station in central London on Tuesday afternoon.
The 63-year-old, who has also made extraordinary claims that the late Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi paid up to £40m towards Mr Sarkozy’s successful 2007 presidential election bid, was reportedly questioned by officers from the British Transport Police before being returned to France on the Eurostar.
French media reported the arms dealer, who was banned from leaving France pending the conclusion of several investigations into his affairs, was trying to visit his children in London for New Year’s Eve.
Mr Takieddine went through an acrimonious divorce from his British-born ex-wife, Nicola Johnson, 52, three years ago. One of their disputed assets was Warwick House, in Holland Park, west London, estimated to be worth more than £17m.
A British Transport Police spokesperson said the removal of Mr Takieddine occurred after an unspecified “allegation of fraud” was reported on Tuesday afternoon.
His fleeting appearance at St Pancras station may not be the first time Mr Takieddine has attempted to leave France in recent weeks. According to French media, he also tried to take a flight to Lebanon just before Christmas.
In June, Mr Takieddine told French investigators that he paid kick-backs on arms deals with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that helped fund the failed presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur in 1995. At the time, Mr Sarkozy was employed as Mr Balladur’s spokesman.
Mr Takieddine reportedly claimed one of Mr Sarkozy’s close aides, Thierry Gaubert, collected suitcases filled with banknotes during visits to Geneva in 1994. Mr Gaubert has denied he is directly connected after being placed under investigation in 2011. Mr Sarkozy is not directly implicated and has denied any role.
Mr Takieddine, a middle man in huge arms and petrol contracts between France and several Middle Eastern countries, has been a persistent thorn in the side of Mr Sarkozy.
A British Transport Police spokesperson said: “A 63-year-old man was stopped at St Pancras International station yesterday following an allegation of fraud.
“The man was escorted back to France by French border police via the Eurostar.”
It seems the second woman George Clooney marry Amal Alamuddin has controversial arms dealer uncle who is involved in scandal.
Supplied Middle East with weapons.
Charged with fraud by French government. This is very damaging for George Clooney, no?
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ARMS DEALER FIXER ZIAD TAKIEDDINE REFUSED ENTRY TO UK AND RETURNED TO FRANCE.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
TOM HARPER [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER
Tuesday 31 December 2013
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A controversial fixer for arms deals linked to an alleged corruption scandal that engulfed Nicolas Sarkozy has been refused entry to Britain.
Ziad Takieddine, a Lebanese businessman who recently confessed to paying kick-backs to an aide of the former French President, was stopped at St Pancras station in central London on Tuesday afternoon.
The 63-year-old, who has also made extraordinary claims that the late Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi paid up to £40m towards Mr Sarkozy’s successful 2007 presidential election bid, was reportedly questioned by officers from the British Transport Police before being returned to France on the Eurostar.
French media reported the arms dealer, who was banned from leaving France pending the conclusion of several investigations into his affairs, was trying to visit his children in London for New Year’s Eve.
Mr Takieddine went through an acrimonious divorce from his British-born ex-wife, Nicola Johnson, 52, three years ago. One of their disputed assets was Warwick House, in Holland Park, west London, estimated to be worth more than £17m.
A British Transport Police spokesperson said the removal of Mr Takieddine occurred after an unspecified “allegation of fraud” was reported on Tuesday afternoon.
His fleeting appearance at St Pancras station may not be the first time Mr Takieddine has attempted to leave France in recent weeks. According to French media, he also tried to take a flight to Lebanon just before Christmas.
In June, Mr Takieddine told French investigators that he paid kick-backs on arms deals with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that helped fund the failed presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur in 1995. At the time, Mr Sarkozy was employed as Mr Balladur’s spokesman.
Mr Takieddine reportedly claimed one of Mr Sarkozy’s close aides, Thierry Gaubert, collected suitcases filled with banknotes during visits to Geneva in 1994. Mr Gaubert has denied he is directly connected after being placed under investigation in 2011. Mr Sarkozy is not directly implicated and has denied any role.
Mr Takieddine, a middle man in huge arms and petrol contracts between France and several Middle Eastern countries, has been a persistent thorn in the side of Mr Sarkozy.
A British Transport Police spokesperson said: “A 63-year-old man was stopped at St Pancras International station yesterday following an allegation of fraud.
“The man was escorted back to France by French border police via the Eurostar.”
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Last edited by zzz on Wed 25 Feb 2015, 09:19; edited 5 times in total
zzz- Clooney virgin
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
More here about rags to riches wealth from running hotel to becoming arms dealer & millionaire overnight in the 1990s.
Ziad Takieddine, Amal Alamuddin's uncle would liaise with Libya's Ghaddafi to import arms into Middle East & was implicated in scandal.
Didn't Amal Alamuddin defend Libya's minister Abdullah Senoussi for human rights violations? Sure everyone deserves defence. But just he is connected to her uncle.
Anyway, she is part of a team as a junior lawyer. Not leading case as Geoffery Robertson.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ziad-takieddine-the-skiresort-owner-with-a-taste-for-the-high-life-8436012.html
Ziad Takieddine, Amal Alamuddin's uncle would liaise with Libya's Ghaddafi to import arms into Middle East & was implicated in scandal.
Didn't Amal Alamuddin defend Libya's minister Abdullah Senoussi for human rights violations? Sure everyone deserves defence. But just he is connected to her uncle.
Anyway, she is part of a team as a junior lawyer. Not leading case as Geoffery Robertson.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ziad-takieddine-the-skiresort-owner-with-a-taste-for-the-high-life-8436012.html
zzz- Clooney virgin
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Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
In the early 1990s, Ziad Takieddine exchanged one kind of slippery slope for another
As the manager of the chic Isola 2000 ski resort in the French Alps, he became friendly with a number of French politicians, including the centre-right Defence Minister François Léotard.
As an Arabic-speaking, Lebanese-born businessman, he re-invented himself as a middle-man for arms negotiations between France and Middle Eastern and Muslim countries.
His British-born ex-wife, Nicola Johnson, 51, met him on a skiing holiday in the 1980s. In an interview last year, she described how the couple moved almost overnight from the modest but comfortable world of the Alps to a jet-set world of “luxury holidays, trips in private aircraft, property investment, and chauffeur and servants”.
Mr Takieddine, 62, and Ms Johnson divorced acrimoniously two years ago.
He accuses her of providing information to the authorities which has fuelled the investigation into his alleged money-laundering and fixing of political kick-backs on multibillion-dollar arms deals. She is suing him for defamation.
He is under formal investigation for his part in a series of arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in 1993-95. It is alleged that huge kick-backs on these deals helped fund the failed presidential campaign of the former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur in 1995.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ziad-takieddine-the-skiresort-owner-with-a-taste-for-the-high-life-8436012.html
As the manager of the chic Isola 2000 ski resort in the French Alps, he became friendly with a number of French politicians, including the centre-right Defence Minister François Léotard.
As an Arabic-speaking, Lebanese-born businessman, he re-invented himself as a middle-man for arms negotiations between France and Middle Eastern and Muslim countries.
His British-born ex-wife, Nicola Johnson, 51, met him on a skiing holiday in the 1980s. In an interview last year, she described how the couple moved almost overnight from the modest but comfortable world of the Alps to a jet-set world of “luxury holidays, trips in private aircraft, property investment, and chauffeur and servants”.
Mr Takieddine, 62, and Ms Johnson divorced acrimoniously two years ago.
He accuses her of providing information to the authorities which has fuelled the investigation into his alleged money-laundering and fixing of political kick-backs on multibillion-dollar arms deals. She is suing him for defamation.
He is under formal investigation for his part in a series of arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in 1993-95. It is alleged that huge kick-backs on these deals helped fund the failed presidential campaign of the former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur in 1995.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ziad-takieddine-the-skiresort-owner-with-a-taste-for-the-high-life-8436012.html
zzz- Clooney virgin
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Join date : 2014-10-03
Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
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Nicola Johnson is fighting her settlement from Ziad Takieddine Photo: EDWARD LLYOD/ALPHA
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By Henry Samuel, Paris
10:00PM BST 30 Aug 2011
An investigating magistrate in the case yesterday questioned Nicola Johnson, 50, who is estranged from Ziad Takieddine, a Franco-Lebanese businessman and her husband of 30 years.
She alleges that Mr Takieddine, a middle man in huge arms and petrol contracts between France and several Middle Eastern countries, has hidden his true fortune in a web of offshore accounts.
She is demanding a €25 million (£22 million) cut of his estate, which her lawyer estimates to be €104 million. However, Mr Takieddine declares only relatively modest earnings of around €200,000 per year.
Despite making use of a string of opulent properties, whose value in France alone is estimated to be €40 million, it is alleged that he paid no income or wealth tax in the country last year.
Miss Johnson, about whom little is known, is fighting a 2009 French court ruling that provides her with just €1,000 per month in alimony.
“[He] has put in place a highly sophisticated system to hide his revenues and his real assets to French authorities,” her lawyer, William Bourdon, alleged yesterday. “He long claimed that the majority of his assets didn’t belong to him and that he only had temporary use of them as part of a work contract,” he told Libération newspaper. Earlier this month, a French family court judge ordered all assets that Mr Takieddine held “in common” with his wife to be frozen because of the risk of him selling them off before an appeal ruling on Sept 15.
These assets include Warwick House, in Holland Park, west London, estimated to be worth more than £17 million, and a palatial Paris pied-à-terre in the chic Avenue Georges-Mandel worth an estimate €12 million, whose nominal owner is one Alain F., Mr Takieddine’s butler.
The judge mentions properties in Antibes on the Riviera, and money from the sale of other Paris flats and the couple’s private jet.
Mr Takieddine itemised assets worth €97.2 million in a statement he signed in 2008 as part of a loan application, since obtained by Mediapart, an investigative news website.
Against the backdrop of this marital dispute, French judges hope to lift the lid on Mr Takieddine’s alleged role in the “Karachi affair” – a political funding scandal involving alleged kickbacks on a 1994 arms sale to Pakistan and the death of French naval engineers in a bomb attack.
Examining magistrates opened an inquiry last year into the submarine sale, and another involving frigates to Saudi Arabia. They are looking into whether some of the large sums officially destined as commissions to officials served as illegal party funding in France.
Seized documents allege that parts of the “commissions” – legal under French law at the time – were siphoned off to help fund the 1994 presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur, then prime minister. Mr Sarkozy was his budget minister and campaign spokesman. Both men have flatly denied allegations of involvement. Mr Sarkozy has previously described suggestions of his involvement in illegal kickbacks as “grotesque, ridiculous and a fable”.
When Jacques Chirac won the election, it is alleged that he punished Mr Balladur by halting the remaining payments to senior Pakistani figures.
Mr Takieddine acknowledges receiving payment from a sale of frigates to Saudi Arabia, a contract authorised in 1994 by Mr Sarkozy. Documents obtained by Mediapart suggest he received €91 million between 1997 and 1998. France also signed a deal that year to sell three submarines to Pakistan. Several witnesses have told the magistrates that Mr Takieddine was imposed by the Balladur camp as an intermediary. He denies any role.
In May 2002, 11 French submarine engineers and four Pakistanis were killed in a bomb attack in Karachi, blamed on al-Qaeda terrorists. But a separate investigation is under way into whether it was a revenge attack by disgruntled officials for the non-payment of sweeteners.
Yesterday judge Renaud Van Ruymbeke was expected to quiz Miss Johnson on her husband’s professional movements and way of life at the time of the submarine deal. He was also expected to ask about her knowledge of where he placed his fortune. The affair is embarrassing for the president as Mr Takieddine is close to several of his nearest allies. Mediapart recently published photos of the head of his UMP party, Jean-François Copé, at Mr Takieddine’s Riviera property.
Mr Takieddine said he had “no comment”. “Let’s wait for justice to run its course and it will all fizzle out,” he said.
Nicola Johnson is fighting her settlement from Ziad Takieddine Photo: EDWARD LLYOD/ALPHA
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By Henry Samuel, Paris
10:00PM BST 30 Aug 2011
An investigating magistrate in the case yesterday questioned Nicola Johnson, 50, who is estranged from Ziad Takieddine, a Franco-Lebanese businessman and her husband of 30 years.
She alleges that Mr Takieddine, a middle man in huge arms and petrol contracts between France and several Middle Eastern countries, has hidden his true fortune in a web of offshore accounts.
She is demanding a €25 million (£22 million) cut of his estate, which her lawyer estimates to be €104 million. However, Mr Takieddine declares only relatively modest earnings of around €200,000 per year.
Despite making use of a string of opulent properties, whose value in France alone is estimated to be €40 million, it is alleged that he paid no income or wealth tax in the country last year.
Miss Johnson, about whom little is known, is fighting a 2009 French court ruling that provides her with just €1,000 per month in alimony.
“[He] has put in place a highly sophisticated system to hide his revenues and his real assets to French authorities,” her lawyer, William Bourdon, alleged yesterday. “He long claimed that the majority of his assets didn’t belong to him and that he only had temporary use of them as part of a work contract,” he told Libération newspaper. Earlier this month, a French family court judge ordered all assets that Mr Takieddine held “in common” with his wife to be frozen because of the risk of him selling them off before an appeal ruling on Sept 15.
These assets include Warwick House, in Holland Park, west London, estimated to be worth more than £17 million, and a palatial Paris pied-à-terre in the chic Avenue Georges-Mandel worth an estimate €12 million, whose nominal owner is one Alain F., Mr Takieddine’s butler.
The judge mentions properties in Antibes on the Riviera, and money from the sale of other Paris flats and the couple’s private jet.
Mr Takieddine itemised assets worth €97.2 million in a statement he signed in 2008 as part of a loan application, since obtained by Mediapart, an investigative news website.
Against the backdrop of this marital dispute, French judges hope to lift the lid on Mr Takieddine’s alleged role in the “Karachi affair” – a political funding scandal involving alleged kickbacks on a 1994 arms sale to Pakistan and the death of French naval engineers in a bomb attack.
Examining magistrates opened an inquiry last year into the submarine sale, and another involving frigates to Saudi Arabia. They are looking into whether some of the large sums officially destined as commissions to officials served as illegal party funding in France.
Seized documents allege that parts of the “commissions” – legal under French law at the time – were siphoned off to help fund the 1994 presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur, then prime minister. Mr Sarkozy was his budget minister and campaign spokesman. Both men have flatly denied allegations of involvement. Mr Sarkozy has previously described suggestions of his involvement in illegal kickbacks as “grotesque, ridiculous and a fable”.
When Jacques Chirac won the election, it is alleged that he punished Mr Balladur by halting the remaining payments to senior Pakistani figures.
Mr Takieddine acknowledges receiving payment from a sale of frigates to Saudi Arabia, a contract authorised in 1994 by Mr Sarkozy. Documents obtained by Mediapart suggest he received €91 million between 1997 and 1998. France also signed a deal that year to sell three submarines to Pakistan. Several witnesses have told the magistrates that Mr Takieddine was imposed by the Balladur camp as an intermediary. He denies any role.
In May 2002, 11 French submarine engineers and four Pakistanis were killed in a bomb attack in Karachi, blamed on al-Qaeda terrorists. But a separate investigation is under way into whether it was a revenge attack by disgruntled officials for the non-payment of sweeteners.
Yesterday judge Renaud Van Ruymbeke was expected to quiz Miss Johnson on her husband’s professional movements and way of life at the time of the submarine deal. He was also expected to ask about her knowledge of where he placed his fortune. The affair is embarrassing for the president as Mr Takieddine is close to several of his nearest allies. Mediapart recently published photos of the head of his UMP party, Jean-François Copé, at Mr Takieddine’s Riviera property.
Mr Takieddine said he had “no comment”. “Let’s wait for justice to run its course and it will all fizzle out,” he said.
zzz- Clooney virgin
- Posts : 25
Join date : 2014-10-03
Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
I moved this thread to the Amals section. We have talked about this before it's not new to us but I can not find the thread were we discussed that.
Anyhow, I guess it is not worth to say that it is not Amal's fault what kind of uncle she has. If I think of my Family I can not control their lifes. But we expect it from Amal......????
I really want to find the other thread to merge this. Any suggestions where it is????
Anyhow, I guess it is not worth to say that it is not Amal's fault what kind of uncle she has. If I think of my Family I can not control their lifes. But we expect it from Amal......????
I really want to find the other thread to merge this. Any suggestions where it is????
Nicky80- Casamigos with Mr Clooney
- Posts : 8561
Join date : 2013-05-01
Location : Germany
Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
No. Just soils George Clooney's name... by association..
And if there is finacial involvement with Clooney....imagine the scandal.
This is serious criminal territory. Hello! Supplying arms to the Middle East.
And George Clooney's latest wife part of legal team defending these ISLAMISTS.
In this political climate.
I wouldn't be surprised if George Clooney will be boycotted by his peers & may more.
It's such an embarrassment to have a controversial wife who's linked to those linked to ISIL.
Like her father Ramzi K Alamuddin and his clise toes to Druze leader & openly Hamas supporter Walid Jumblat.
Predident Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Hamas & ISIL are the same.
Another criminal arms dealer linked to George Clooney now by associatio. is slain Bulgarian criminal Ilia Pavlov whose daughter's wedding Clooney attended last year.
Still just the icing on the cake...
And if there is finacial involvement with Clooney....imagine the scandal.
This is serious criminal territory. Hello! Supplying arms to the Middle East.
And George Clooney's latest wife part of legal team defending these ISLAMISTS.
In this political climate.
I wouldn't be surprised if George Clooney will be boycotted by his peers & may more.
It's such an embarrassment to have a controversial wife who's linked to those linked to ISIL.
Like her father Ramzi K Alamuddin and his clise toes to Druze leader & openly Hamas supporter Walid Jumblat.
Predident Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Hamas & ISIL are the same.
Another criminal arms dealer linked to George Clooney now by associatio. is slain Bulgarian criminal Ilia Pavlov whose daughter's wedding Clooney attended last year.
Still just the icing on the cake...
zzz- Clooney virgin
- Posts : 25
Join date : 2014-10-03
Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Nicky80 wrote:I moved this thread to the Amals section. We have talked about this before it's not new to us but I can not find the thread were we discussed that.
Anyhow, I guess it is not worth to say that it is not Amal's fault what kind of uncle she has. If I think of my Family I can not control their lifes. But we expect it from Amal......????
I really want to find the other thread to merge this. Any suggestions where it is????
I think it was discussed on one of threads for the London Wedding party (pre-party discussion.)
Silje- More than a little bit enthusiastic about Clooney
- Posts : 1083
Join date : 2014-05-30
Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Thank you silje, you are a star. It found it in the thread you suggested. Moved the Posts over here and merged threads
Nicky80- Casamigos with Mr Clooney
- Posts : 8561
Join date : 2013-05-01
Location : Germany
Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
Oooh, you big, fat LIAR! You posted this here yourself* in October. It's also on all Clooney fansites that I'm aware of.zzz wrote:Not sure where to post this but cannot find on this George Clooney fansite.
*under a different username, sure, but we all know it was you.
Agenda much?
Katiedot- Admin
- Posts : 13223
Join date : 2010-12-05
Re: Ziad Takieddine - Uncle of Amal Alamuddin
These links are on several sites, so in case media reps peruse here looking for information, it should be included.
After all, George Clooney's name is linked to this controversial arms dealer, as his "in-laws." [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
It seems some of the clients Amal Allamuddin has legally assisted through the law firm that represents them, are associated with her uncle Ziad Takieddine. Like Abdullah Senoussi & Colonel Gaddafi's son.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Links:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The Takieddine files
From mid-July 2011, Mediapart began the publication of a lengthy series of investigations into the activities of Paris-based Franco-Lebanese arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine, the principal suspect in an ongoing judicial investigation into suspected illegal political funding via French arms sales abroad, and which is known as the ‘Karachi Affair’. Mediapart’s investigations revealed Takieddine’s intimate dealings with the close entourage of then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and notably his role as a secret diplomatic intermediary.
Takieddine gained most of his immense wealth from commissions paid to him from French weapons sales, beginning under the government of French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur, in the mid-1990s, and latterly from contracts negotiated by Nicolas Sarkozy’s inner political team, before and after the latter became president.
The thousands of documents to which Mediapart gained access throw a clear light on Takieddine’s relationships with Sarkozy’s team, and the role he played, up until the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011, in France’s rapprochement with the regime of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and that of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
1. Takieddine and his friends in high places. Several previously unpublished photos illustrate what were until then unknown - and for some of those involved, secret – links between the arms dealer and the closed circle of the French president’s most trusted staff and allies.
2. A well-hidden fortune. Ziad Takieddine’s wealth originates from secret commissions amounting to $130 million paid to him for the sales in the mid-1990s of French Agosta submarines to Pakistan and La Fayette frigates to Saudi Arabia under the government of then-prime minister Edouard Balladur. After making his fortune through the contracts, he began leading a high-flying lifestyle in France and abroad, but with his wealth stashed in offshore companies and accounts he paid no taxes in France, where he was domiciled.
3. Protected by French intelligence. Arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine not only had highly privileged relations with the inner circle of Nicolas Sarkozy’s political aides, he also enjoyed favoured treatment from the French intelligence service, the DGSE.
4. Saudi Arabia and the Miksa project.The ‘Saudi Border Guards Developpment Project ‘, codenamed ‘Miska’, was a contract estimated to be worth 7 billion euros for the supply by French companies of technology and material to ensure the security of Saudi Arabia’s national borders. Ziad Takieddine was destined to be paid 350 million euros in 2003 in secret commission payments for his role as intermediary.
5. Libya: when Takieddine played the role of secret emissary (2005-2009). In 2005, the Sarkozy clan lost all hope of signing the Miksa contract after they were blocked by the intervention of Sarkozy’s fellow conservative rival and then-president Jacques Chirac. So they turned to the Libyan regime of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in an attempt to sell contracts in the fields of weapons and energy.
6. Takieddine and Total in Libya. Ziad Takieddine was paid almost 7 million euros by French oil and gas giant Total, on the sidelines of a gas contract agreed with the Libyan regime of Colonol Muammar Gaddafi. The payment was made under the supervision of Total’s CEO Christophe de Margerie. The deal was actively supported by the presidential office of Nicolas Sarkozy.
7. Syria and a secret diplomacy (2007-2009). Between 2007 and 2009, Ziad Takieddine was the key figure in a process of rapprochement between France and Syria, and was also the go-between who introduced French President Nicolas Sarkozy to his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad.
..................................
Takieddine and his friends in high places
Ziad Takieddine is the principal suspect in an ongoing judicial investigation into suspected illegal political funding via French arms sales abroad, in a case known as the ‘Karachi affair’. From 2002, he became a secret advisor and hidden financier at the heart of Nicolas Sarkozy’s political clan, beginning with the latter’s long years of campaigning to become president, and continuing after Sarkozy won the presidency in 2007. A series of previously unpublished photos, revealed in 2011, illustrate what were until then unknown - and for some of those involved, secret – links between the arms dealer and the closed circle of the then-French president’s most trusted staff and allies. They notably concern Brice Hortefeux, a longstanding friend and political servitor of Sarkozy, who held three ministerial posts under his presidency; Thierry Gaubert, another friend of Sarkozy’s who once served as an advisor to him; Jean-François Copé,a former budget minister and the current head of the main, conservative opposition party, the UMP; Dominique Desseigne, heir to the Barrière luxury hotel and casino group (Desseigne married Thierry Gaubert’s ex-wife, Diane Barrière, who died in 2001) and owner of the luxury Paris restaurant Fouquet’s, where Nicolas Sarkozy was later to celebrate his election victory in May 2007; Etienne Mougeotte, former vice-president of French television channel TF1 and currently editor-in-chief of French daily Le Figaro.
A well-hidden fortune
Ziad Takieddine’s wealth originates from secret commissions amounting to $130 million paid to him for the sales in the mid-1990s of French Agosta submarines to Pakistan and La Fayette frigates to Saudi Arabia under the government of then-prime minister Edouard Balladur. After making his fortune through the contracts, he began leading a high-flying lifestyle in France and abroad, but with his wealth stashed in offshore companies and accounts he paid no taxes in France, where he was domiciled. Meanwhile, successive French budget ministers, who include one of his regular holiday partners, appeared to have no qualms about his extraordinary fiscal situation.
Arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine not only had highly privileged relations with the inner circle of Nicolas Sarkozy’s political aides, he also enjoyed favoured treatment from the French intelligence service, the DGSE.
Saudi Arabia and the Miksa project
The ‘Saudi Border Guards Developpment Project ‘, codenamed ‘Miksa’, was a contract estimated to be worth 7 billion euros for the supply by French companies of technology and material to ensure the security of Saudi Arabia’s national borders. A first part of the contract was finally awarded to EADS, the pan-European aerospace and defence consortium, in July 2009. In its original version, the contract included the supply of aircraft, helicopters, radars and highly-sophisticated communications systems. It was intended that Ziad Takieddine would receive 350 million euros in secret commission payments from the contract in 2003. These payments were to be made, under the authority of Nicolas Sarkozy, then French interior minister, via a company controlled by the interior ministry, called Civipol. The then French president, Jacques Chirac, scuppered the arms deal at the last moment after being informed of an alleged financial set-up it contained for the purpose of funding the political activities of the Sarkozy camp, which rivaled him for control of the conservative UMP party.
Libya: when Takieddine played the role of secret emissary (2005-2009)
In 2005, the Sarkozy clan lost all hope of signing the Miksa contract after they were blocked by the intervention of Sarkozy’s fellow conservative rival and then-president Jacques Chirac. So they turned to the Libyan regime of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in an attempt to sell contracts in the fields of weapons and energy. Ziad Takieddine was to play a key role at the centre of the negotiations with Tripoli..
...................
Takieddine and Total in Libya
Franco-Lebanese arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine was paid almost 7 million euros by French oil and gas giant Total, on the sidelines of a gas contract agreed with the Libyan regime of Colonol Muammar Gaddafi. The payment of $9.8 million dollars (6.9 million euros) was made in the autumn of 2009. Total subsequently confirmed making the payment, which it described as “regular practice”.
.....................
Syria and a secret diplomacy (2007-2009)
Between 2007 and 2009, Franco-Lebanese arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine was the key figure in the diplomatic process of rapprochement between France and Syria, and was also the go-between who introduced French President Nicolas Sarkozy to his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad.
After all, George Clooney's name is linked to this controversial arms dealer, as his "in-laws." [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
It seems some of the clients Amal Allamuddin has legally assisted through the law firm that represents them, are associated with her uncle Ziad Takieddine. Like Abdullah Senoussi & Colonel Gaddafi's son.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Links:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The Takieddine files
From mid-July 2011, Mediapart began the publication of a lengthy series of investigations into the activities of Paris-based Franco-Lebanese arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine, the principal suspect in an ongoing judicial investigation into suspected illegal political funding via French arms sales abroad, and which is known as the ‘Karachi Affair’. Mediapart’s investigations revealed Takieddine’s intimate dealings with the close entourage of then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and notably his role as a secret diplomatic intermediary.
Takieddine gained most of his immense wealth from commissions paid to him from French weapons sales, beginning under the government of French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur, in the mid-1990s, and latterly from contracts negotiated by Nicolas Sarkozy’s inner political team, before and after the latter became president.
The thousands of documents to which Mediapart gained access throw a clear light on Takieddine’s relationships with Sarkozy’s team, and the role he played, up until the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011, in France’s rapprochement with the regime of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and that of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
1. Takieddine and his friends in high places. Several previously unpublished photos illustrate what were until then unknown - and for some of those involved, secret – links between the arms dealer and the closed circle of the French president’s most trusted staff and allies.
2. A well-hidden fortune. Ziad Takieddine’s wealth originates from secret commissions amounting to $130 million paid to him for the sales in the mid-1990s of French Agosta submarines to Pakistan and La Fayette frigates to Saudi Arabia under the government of then-prime minister Edouard Balladur. After making his fortune through the contracts, he began leading a high-flying lifestyle in France and abroad, but with his wealth stashed in offshore companies and accounts he paid no taxes in France, where he was domiciled.
3. Protected by French intelligence. Arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine not only had highly privileged relations with the inner circle of Nicolas Sarkozy’s political aides, he also enjoyed favoured treatment from the French intelligence service, the DGSE.
4. Saudi Arabia and the Miksa project.The ‘Saudi Border Guards Developpment Project ‘, codenamed ‘Miska’, was a contract estimated to be worth 7 billion euros for the supply by French companies of technology and material to ensure the security of Saudi Arabia’s national borders. Ziad Takieddine was destined to be paid 350 million euros in 2003 in secret commission payments for his role as intermediary.
5. Libya: when Takieddine played the role of secret emissary (2005-2009). In 2005, the Sarkozy clan lost all hope of signing the Miksa contract after they were blocked by the intervention of Sarkozy’s fellow conservative rival and then-president Jacques Chirac. So they turned to the Libyan regime of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in an attempt to sell contracts in the fields of weapons and energy.
6. Takieddine and Total in Libya. Ziad Takieddine was paid almost 7 million euros by French oil and gas giant Total, on the sidelines of a gas contract agreed with the Libyan regime of Colonol Muammar Gaddafi. The payment was made under the supervision of Total’s CEO Christophe de Margerie. The deal was actively supported by the presidential office of Nicolas Sarkozy.
7. Syria and a secret diplomacy (2007-2009). Between 2007 and 2009, Ziad Takieddine was the key figure in a process of rapprochement between France and Syria, and was also the go-between who introduced French President Nicolas Sarkozy to his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad.
..................................
Takieddine and his friends in high places
Ziad Takieddine is the principal suspect in an ongoing judicial investigation into suspected illegal political funding via French arms sales abroad, in a case known as the ‘Karachi affair’. From 2002, he became a secret advisor and hidden financier at the heart of Nicolas Sarkozy’s political clan, beginning with the latter’s long years of campaigning to become president, and continuing after Sarkozy won the presidency in 2007. A series of previously unpublished photos, revealed in 2011, illustrate what were until then unknown - and for some of those involved, secret – links between the arms dealer and the closed circle of the then-French president’s most trusted staff and allies. They notably concern Brice Hortefeux, a longstanding friend and political servitor of Sarkozy, who held three ministerial posts under his presidency; Thierry Gaubert, another friend of Sarkozy’s who once served as an advisor to him; Jean-François Copé,a former budget minister and the current head of the main, conservative opposition party, the UMP; Dominique Desseigne, heir to the Barrière luxury hotel and casino group (Desseigne married Thierry Gaubert’s ex-wife, Diane Barrière, who died in 2001) and owner of the luxury Paris restaurant Fouquet’s, where Nicolas Sarkozy was later to celebrate his election victory in May 2007; Etienne Mougeotte, former vice-president of French television channel TF1 and currently editor-in-chief of French daily Le Figaro.
A well-hidden fortune
Ziad Takieddine’s wealth originates from secret commissions amounting to $130 million paid to him for the sales in the mid-1990s of French Agosta submarines to Pakistan and La Fayette frigates to Saudi Arabia under the government of then-prime minister Edouard Balladur. After making his fortune through the contracts, he began leading a high-flying lifestyle in France and abroad, but with his wealth stashed in offshore companies and accounts he paid no taxes in France, where he was domiciled. Meanwhile, successive French budget ministers, who include one of his regular holiday partners, appeared to have no qualms about his extraordinary fiscal situation.
Arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine not only had highly privileged relations with the inner circle of Nicolas Sarkozy’s political aides, he also enjoyed favoured treatment from the French intelligence service, the DGSE.
Saudi Arabia and the Miksa project
The ‘Saudi Border Guards Developpment Project ‘, codenamed ‘Miksa’, was a contract estimated to be worth 7 billion euros for the supply by French companies of technology and material to ensure the security of Saudi Arabia’s national borders. A first part of the contract was finally awarded to EADS, the pan-European aerospace and defence consortium, in July 2009. In its original version, the contract included the supply of aircraft, helicopters, radars and highly-sophisticated communications systems. It was intended that Ziad Takieddine would receive 350 million euros in secret commission payments from the contract in 2003. These payments were to be made, under the authority of Nicolas Sarkozy, then French interior minister, via a company controlled by the interior ministry, called Civipol. The then French president, Jacques Chirac, scuppered the arms deal at the last moment after being informed of an alleged financial set-up it contained for the purpose of funding the political activities of the Sarkozy camp, which rivaled him for control of the conservative UMP party.
Libya: when Takieddine played the role of secret emissary (2005-2009)
In 2005, the Sarkozy clan lost all hope of signing the Miksa contract after they were blocked by the intervention of Sarkozy’s fellow conservative rival and then-president Jacques Chirac. So they turned to the Libyan regime of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in an attempt to sell contracts in the fields of weapons and energy. Ziad Takieddine was to play a key role at the centre of the negotiations with Tripoli..
...................
Takieddine and Total in Libya
Franco-Lebanese arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine was paid almost 7 million euros by French oil and gas giant Total, on the sidelines of a gas contract agreed with the Libyan regime of Colonol Muammar Gaddafi. The payment of $9.8 million dollars (6.9 million euros) was made in the autumn of 2009. Total subsequently confirmed making the payment, which it described as “regular practice”.
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Syria and a secret diplomacy (2007-2009)
Between 2007 and 2009, Franco-Lebanese arms dealer and business intermediary Ziad Takieddine was the key figure in the diplomatic process of rapprochement between France and Syria, and was also the go-between who introduced French President Nicolas Sarkozy to his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad.
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