U.S. Aid to Musharraf is Largely Untraceable Cash Transfers

[aggiesal]

Source: TPMMuckraker

By Spencer Ackerman - November 7, 2007, 5:05PM

After Pervez Musharraf declared martial law this weekend, Condoleezza Rice vowed to review U.S. assistance to Pakistan, one of the largest foreign recipients of American aid. Musharraf, of course, has been a crucial American ally since the start of the Afghanistan war in 2001, and the U.S. has rewarded him ever since with over $10 billion in civilian and (mostly) military largesse. But, perhaps unsure whether Musharraf's days might in fact be numbered, Rice contended that the explosion of money to Islamabad over the past seven years was "not to Musharraf, but to a Pakistan you could argue was making significant strides on a number of fronts."

In fact, however, a considerable amount of the money the U.S. gives to Pakistan is administered not through U.S. agencies or joint U.S.-Pakistani programs. Instead, the U.S. gives Musharraf's government about $200 million annually and his military $100 million monthly in the form of direct cash transfers. Once that money leaves the U.S. Treasury, Musharraf can do with it whatever he wants. He needs only promise in a secret annual meeting that he'll use it to invest in the Pakistani people. And whatever happens as the result of Rice's review, few Pakistan watchers expect the cash transfers to end.

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$300 Million per month. That's $3.6 Billion per year, unaccounted for
once it leaves the US Treasury.

Oh, I forgot, Musharraf promised to "invest" it in the Pakistani people.

$9 Billion lost in Iraq, now untold Billions unaccounted for in Pakistan?

[tom_paine]

1. Another Bushie money sinkhole of theft.

Our country is leaking cash so badly, it is surprising any is still left. Oh, that's why the Bushies are printing dollars like they are going out of style.

[aggiesal]

2. I'm sorry, my math is wrong. It's only $1.4 Billion annually. n/t

[Benhurst]

4. Whew! That makes me feel soooooooo much better.

[TwilightGardener]

3. As others have said, we've had a "Musharraf" policy all these years instead

of a "Pakistan" policy--this proves it. I guess we've had absolutely no strings attached, just let him do what he wanted, as long as he pretended to fight the extremists. Well, we reap what we sow--now he's completely seized power, and we're afraid to do anything about it, because we don't want AQ/Taliban to rise up if he's weakened in any way. We're powerless, just watching from the sidelines. Good going, BushCo.

[Stalwart]

5. Serial Numbers of $100 bills Sent to Iraq Maybe Now in Pakistan?

These are the serial numbers on all $100 bills produced by the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in D.C. and sent to the NY Federal Reserve Bank prior to the turnover by the CPA to Iraq until June 2004 of 8 billion unaccounted for US dollars, mostly in $100 denominations.

As you can see, Many of the bills on hand at the NYFRB prior to June 2004 must have been included in the cash shipments made by the NYFRB to Iraq.

Are cash payments in actual $100 bills being made to Pakistan? What are the serial numbers of bills circulating in Pakistan?

All bills sent by the NYFRB to Iraq were sequentially serialized when produced by the BEP and then shipped by the original unopened pallet loads to Iraq from the NYFRB.

How much of what was shipped to Iraq might be showing up in Pakistan identified to these serial numbers and how might they have gotten there? New US $100 bills easily make their way to money changers in any country.

Total BEP Monthly Production Reports of all $100 bills produced for the NYFRB, data taken from the BEP website:


October 2002
$100.00 2001 CB 86,400,001 A -- CB 99,200,000 C 12,800,000 $1.2 Billion
$100.00 2001 CB 1 D CB 25,600,000 D 25,600,000 $2.56 Billion

November 2002
$100.00 2001 CB 25,600,001 D CB 96,000,000 D 70,400,000 $7.04 Billion

December 2002
$100.00 2001 CB 96,000,001 D - CB 99,200,000 D 3,200,000 $320 Million
$100.00 2001 CB 1 E CB 67,200,000 E 67,200,000 $6.72 Billion

Janurary 2003
$100.00 2001 CB 67,200,001 E CB 99,200,000E 32,200,000 $3.22 Billion
$100.00 2001 CB 1 F CB 19,200,000F 19,200,000 $1.92 Billion

February 2003
$100.00 2001 CB 19,200,001 F CB 83,200,000 F 64,000,000 $6.4 Billion

Next production batch after CPA turnover:
July 2004
$100.00 2003N DB 1 A DB 32,000,000 A 32,000,000 $3.2 Billion

From the Waxman hearing 21 June 2005:

Mr. KUCINICH. Is it within your jurisdiction to provide this com-
mittee with the serial numbers that came through Federal Re-
serve—I take it these were new $100 bills—to provide this commit-
tee with the information with respect to any list on which those se-
rial numbers have turned up on coming back through Customs,
who held those serial numbers? Do we have that?
Mr. BOWEN. No, we do not. And we have not—the measures that
I have described have not produced findings, so to speak.

Mr. KUCINICH. I thank the Chair.
Mr. Bowen, I would like to explore a little bit more about this
cash environment. We know from Mr. Waxman’s testimony that
the administration transferred from New York to Baghdad more
than $281 million individual currency notes on 484 pallets that in-
cluded more than 107 million $100 bills, and he put up on the
screen what the Federal officials called cash packs, pictures of
them, and each one of these cash packs contained 16,000 bills. One
cash pack with $100 bills is worth $1.6 million, and the Federal
Reserve shipped more than 19,000 of these cash packs to Iraq. You
agree substantially with that description, correction?
Mr. BOWEN. Yes, I do.

[Hestia]

6. There is a documentary that runs on Discovery Times about Pakistan

the deal that was made is that the US couldn't provide aid directly to Afghanistan right after the Soviet War. They gave the funds to Pakistan to hand out, who gave it war lords and then the Taliban. Pakistan is pretty much responsible for the rise of the Taliban. Bush continued with this funds transfer to Pakistan and racheted up the amounts.

Dang, I forget the name of the show about it.

[varun]

7. US aid is used by Pakistani army to buy arms

to be used against India.

Its not used to fight terror.