A company linked to the regime of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has had an account in a Bulgarian bank since 1994

A company linked to the regime of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has had an account in a Bulgarian bank since 1994, but it has been passive for the last five years with no transactions made through it, financial intelligence chief Vasil Kirov announced on Friday. However, he denied naming the company and the bank, but specifed that legitimate payments for arms trading had been executed via that bank account. Vassil Kirov explained the financial experts came across the account last year while checking some 600 signals of suspected international terrorism-related money laundry through Bulgaria. None of the signals proved true, he said. In 2004 the Financial Investigation Agency has received a total of 432 reports for suspicious operations and deals worth of EUR 132.5 M. Most of that money was suspected to be run by criminal groups operating in Bulgaria and countries of the European Union, Kirov said.