Former US ambassador to the UN in alleged money laundering scheme

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/08/ambassador-zalmay-khalilzad-alleged-money-laundering

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Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the UN under President George W Bush, is being investigated by American authorities for suspected money laundering, Austrian officials said Monday.

State prosecutor Thomas Vecsey confirmed a report in the Austrian weekly Profil about the investigation of Khalilzad, who played a key role in the political transition in Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion and the fall of the Taliban.

According to the magazine, the investigation centers on the alleged transfer of €1.15m ($1.5m) in May 2013 to an account in Vienna owned by Khalilzad’s wife, Cheryl Benard. The money came from business activities in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, it reported. Vecsey would not elaborate on the allegations, nor did the magazine’s report.

Benard’s lawyer, Holger Bielesz, said that Austrian authorities ordered several bank accounts owned by Benard frozen in February, about 10 months after the US Department of Justice asked for Austria’s help. That ruling is now under appeal.

Bielesz said the vaguely worded US request did not specify the grounds for the investigation but it appeared to be looking for evidence of money laundering.

The lawyer argued Austrian authorities had over-reacted in ordering Benard’s bank accounts frozen, considering that the Justice Department has yet to express “reasonable grounds for suspicions”.

Bielesz declined to go into details about the US investigation, saying that at this point he was representing only Benard and her attempts to get full access to the funds on her accounts.

The case became public after a blogger found documents while rummaging through a garbage container used by the state prosecutor’s office in Vienna.

Khalilzad was born in Afghanistan and went to the United States as an exchange student. He later became a professor and a favorite of Republican presidents, especially Bush.

He was the US special presidential envoy to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2003, then US ambassador there until 2005. He was the ambassador to Iraq from 2005 to 2007, and the US permanent representative to the United Nations from 2007 to 2009.

Many Afghan officials and foreign observers saw Khalilzad as the country’s de-facto ruler in the initial months after the Taliban’s collapse. He took center stage organizing the traditional grand councils, or loya jirgas, that would eventually approve Afghanistan’s constitution.

In the private sector, Khalilzad is founder and president of Gryphon Partners, which advises companies and wealthy individuals on business opportunities in several industries and regions, including high-risk territories.

He sits on the boards of the National Endowment for Democracy, America Abroad Media, the Mideast studies center at Rand Corp, the American University of Iraq and the American University of Afghanistan. He also is a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and writes about foreign policy issues and frequently appears on US news shows.

Khalilzad holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the American University of Beirut, as well as a doctorate from the University of Chicago.