Christopher P Drogoul

A Georgia banker was plotting to arrange billions of dollars for Iraqi arms purchases when federal agents shut down his operation here in 1989, a former bank official testified Friday. The testimony of Jean Ivey, a former official of the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in Atlanta, provided the most in-depth evidence yet about branch manager Christopher P. Drogoul's role in bankrolling Iraq's military buildup before the Persian Gulf War.

The Justice Department cleared the George Bush Administration Monday of any wrongdoing in the so-called "Iraqgate" affair, releasing an internal department report saying that no evidence could be found of any criminal conduct beyond that of six U.S.-based employees of an Italian bank who have been convicted of illegal transactions. The department's report, more than a year in the making, dismissed allegations by the bank's convicted Atlanta manager, Christopher P.

Former President George Bush was subpoenaed Tuesday to testify in the coming criminal trial of an Atlanta banker accused of providing $5 billion in unauthorized loans to help finance Iraq's military buildup before the Persian Gulf War. The banker's lawyer argued that Bush's testimony could prove that the U.S. government knew of the loans and permitted them as part of a strategy to arm Iraq secretly in its war against Iran and later to win favor with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The former manager of an Italian bank branch in Atlanta pleaded guilty Thursday to charges stemming from $5 billion in loans that helped Iraq arm itself before the Persian Gulf War. The latest twist in the convoluted case came 10 days after the Clinton Administration had announced that its own investigation had found the Justice Department under former President George Bush to have concluded correctly that the Atlanta manager operated without the knowledge of his superiors in Rome.

A former banker who faces prison for helping make illicit loans to Iraq before the Persian Gulf War told Congress that he pleaded guilty two months ago chiefly out of concern for his family and the financial effect on them that a long trial and long prison term might have. Christopher P. Drogoul, former manager of the Atlanta office of Italy's Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, described himself as "an insignificant figure who can be sacrificed in the interests of major governments."

Nearly three years after FBI agents raided the Atlanta branch of an Italian bank that provided billions of dollars to Iraq, the mystery surrounding the politically charged case is deeper than ever. Classified documents and interviews indicate that American officials were aware well before the raid that, late in the Iran-Iraq war and afterward, the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro's tiny branch in Atlanta was funneling huge loans to Iraq's clandestine international arms procurement network.

The central figure in a scandal involving nearly $5 billion in loans to Iraq by a U.S. branch of an Italian bank agreed unexpectedly Wednesday to plead guilty to all 347 counts of conspiracy and fraud. The surprise plea reflects the apparent strength of the government's case against the former manager of the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro branch in Atlanta--a case the Bush Administration allegedly held up for more than a year to avoid straining relations with Iraq.

The former manager of an Italian bank branch in Atlanta who made $5 billion worth of loans that helped build Iraq's war machine before the invasion of Kuwait acted on his own in exchange for $4.25 million in bribes, the government said Friday. As a result, federal prosecutors abruptly withdrew plans to seek a lighter sentence for Christopher P. Drogoul, the former manager of the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro branch in Atlanta.

Nearly a year after FBI agents raided the Atlanta branch of a major Italian bank, its politically powerful chairman urged the American ambassador to Italy to ask U.S. authorities to proceed slowly in their investigation of the bank's links to Iraq, classified documents reveal.

President Bush's name was raised for the first time Wednesday in the sentencing hearing for a former banker who engineered $5 billion in illicit loans that helped build Iraq's war machine. Bush's prewar policy toward Baghdad has hung like a storm cloud over events leading up to the hearing in federal court here. But on Wednesday, the defense lawyer described Bush's secret 1989 order mandating closer ties to Iraq as part of a deliberate U.S. foreign policy.

The Justice Department cleared the George Bush Administration Monday of any wrongdoing in the so-called "Iraqgate" affair, releasing an internal department report saying that no evidence could be found of any criminal conduct beyond that of six U.S.-based employees of an Italian bank who have been convicted of illegal transactions. The department's report, more than a year in the making, dismissed allegations by the bank's convicted Atlanta manager, Christopher P.

A former banker who faces prison for helping make illicit loans to Iraq before the Persian Gulf War told Congress that he pleaded guilty two months ago chiefly out of concern for his family and the financial effect on them that a long trial and long prison term might have. Christopher P. Drogoul, former manager of the Atlanta office of Italy's Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, described himself as "an insignificant figure who can be sacrificed in the interests of major governments."

The chairman of the House Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee on Friday criticized a Justice Department plea bargain with an ex-banker who loaned $5 billion to Iraq, charging that the deal amounted to "a whitewash" of the so-called Iraqgate scandal. "It's the same old stuff and it smells," said Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez (D-Tex.), whose committee has spent three years investigating the Iraqi loan case.

The former manager of an Italian bank branch in Atlanta pleaded guilty Thursday to charges stemming from $5 billion in loans that helped Iraq arm itself before the Persian Gulf War. The latest twist in the convoluted case came 10 days after the Clinton Administration had announced that its own investigation had found the Justice Department under former President George Bush to have concluded correctly that the Atlanta manager operated without the knowledge of his superiors in Rome.

Former President George Bush was subpoenaed Tuesday to testify in the coming criminal trial of an Atlanta banker accused of providing $5 billion in unauthorized loans to help finance Iraq's military buildup before the Persian Gulf War. The banker's lawyer argued that Bush's testimony could prove that the U.S. government knew of the loans and permitted them as part of a strategy to arm Iraq secretly in its war against Iran and later to win favor with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Poor cooperation by the CIA with federal law enforcement officers was partly responsible for lapses that nearly allowed Iraq to obtain sensitive nuclear triggers from a San Diego company a few months before the Persian Gulf War, the chairman of a key House committee charged Thursday. Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez (D-Tex.), whose Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee has been investigating the George Bush Administration's relationship with Iraq before that country invaded Kuwait, credited a U.S.

Italy's Senate is considering a proposal to revive an investigation here into the role that government-owned Banca Nazionale del Lavoro and various Italian companies played in an Iraqi arms buildup before the Persian Gulf War. A proposal awaiting approval by the full Senate would create a 20-senator commission to explore the $5 billion in loans made to Iraq by BNL's branch in Atlanta while Iraq was at war with Iran.

Reports indicating that executives in Rome of Italy's largest bank knew about billions of dollars in loans to Iraq were discussed at secret 1989 meetings at the U.S. Embassy there in the presence of an FBI official, CIA witnesses have reportedly told Congress. A senior government source said CIA officials made the assertion during recent testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

A federal judge said Monday that the Bush Administration misled him by concealing important intelligence information in a politically sensitive case involving billions of dollars in loans to Iraq. "Certainly either the CIA or the Justice Department or both have misled me," U.S. District Judge Marvin H. Shoob of Atlanta said in a telephone interview. "There appear to be documents that were not made available to me."

CIA Director Robert M. Gates ordered an investigation Wednesday into the agency's failure to provide accurate information to the Justice Department and a federal judge about its knowledge of a massive scheme in which loans were funneled to Iraq before the Persian Gulf War.