In the wake of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the international embargo that followed, a UN program called “Oil-for-Food” was put in place to allow the Iraqis to ease an unprecedented food crisis in the country. However, this program saw its purpose diverted by a group of actors who made it possible to supply the Iraqi government with foreign currency and to source supplies while evading the embargo. Morocco was an unlikely player in this affair. Through the Moroccan bank Bank Of Africa, Morocco helped Saddam Hussein’s Iraq circumvent the international oil embargo.
Bank Of Africa, formerly BMCE, is one of the leading banks of Morocco and Africa, established in 31 countries (including a very recent presence in China). Outside Morocco, BOA supports several countries through loans to finance their infrastructure or foreign investments. Its chief executive is Othman Benjelloun, the 2nd largest fortune of the Kingdom and the 15th of Africa with 2 billion euros. As one of the tools of national soft power, the Moroccan bank has often followed the royal tours, notably in Africa, with several projects to set up local operations or to finance humanitarian investments.
BOA took part in several loans to the Iraqi government before the invasion of the country, notably for oil infrastructure. With the total having reached 22 million euros, BOA (still expanding at the time) sought to make contact with the leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. To that end, the Moroccan bank will hire the former ambassador of France to Morocco and later representative of France to the UN, Jean-Bernard Merimee, to make contact with the Iraqi foreign affairs minister Tarek Aziz. It all begins in 1995, with the opening of negotiations on the UN program after the severe embargo on Iraq. To allow the latter to honor its promises, Merimee will take advantage of his role at the UN to propose and negotiate the famous Resolution 986 that will lead to the “Oil-for-Food” operation. His closeness to the Iraqi minister will allow him to get this resolution accepted quickly, a resolution that will be used to divert the export of Iraqi barrels and make it possible to repay BOA while providing the Iraqi government with foreign currency.
In 2000, Morocco decided to break the UN embargo and sent several RAM planes carrying several tons of food and medical supplies intended for the Iraqi people.
This trip is a strong message addressed to the Security Council and the Arab League. We condemn the continuation of the embargo and the suffering and hardships of the Iraqi people and we demand the end of this joke that has lasted so long[...] -Mohammed al-Khusami, Head of the Popular Committee and head of the Moroccan delegation.
In 2003, the young King Mohammed VI decides to launch a royal appeal for solidarity after the American invasion of Iraq. Bank Of Africa, grateful for the Iraqi commitment during the UN program, decided to take part in the appeal and will contribute more than one million euros to help the country battered by years of embargo and now by an invasion. Moreover, 2 months before the war, the minister who had been in contact with Benjelloun, Tarik Aziz, visited Morocco and thanked the Kingdom for all the help provided during the embargo.
In 2004, an Iraqi newspaper named Al-Mada cites the name of Merimee but also that of his colleague Boidevaix, recounting how these two French officials used and circumvented UN Resolution 986 to import Iraqi oil. After 1 year of judicial investigation, Merimee is released but remains censured for corruption and influence peddling by the Quai d’Orsay. He will admit before the judge that the minister Tarek Aziz “had done him a favor”.
