Ex-Usaian diplomat Khalilzad contests financial probe
Deb Reichmann, AP, Sep 8 2014
WASHINGTON — A former Usaian ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the UN has been caught up in a suspected money-laundering inquiry that led to a freeze on bank deposits he and his wife hold in Austria. Austrian officials said Zalmay Khalilzad, the founder of a global consulting group, was being investigated for suspected money laundering related to business activities in Iraq and the UAE. The case became public after a blogger found documents while rummaging through a garbage can used by the state prosecutor’s office in Vienna. However, few other details are known about the case. The Usaian Justice Dept in May 2013 asked Austrian authorities for records regarding the Viennese bank accounts of Khalilzad’s wife, Cheryl Benard, according to a statement by Khalilzad’s Usaian lawyer, Robert Buehler. Austrian authorities then froze the accounts. Khalilzad strongly contested the decision to freeze his and his wife’s accounts, saying it was an overreaction to a routine request for information by the Justice Dept to Austrian officials. The Austrian state prosecutor, Thomas Vecsey, confirmed the blogger’s report in the Austrian weekly Profil, which said the inquiry centers on the alleged transfer of $1.5m to an account belonging to Benard. Buehler noted in a statement that no charges have been filed against Khalilzad or Benard. The law firm said in a statement:
The DOJ request for information did not seek the seizure of assets belonging to Ms Benard or Ambassador Khalilzad, nor did the DOJ ask Austrian authorities to seize any of their accounts. However, for reasons that remain unclear, an Austrian prosecutor ignored the plain language of the DOJ request and froze Ms Benard’s accounts solely on the basis of the DOJ’s request for information.
The law firm said the Justice Dept request did not contain any evidence of money laundering or other offenses, and that the Austrian prosecutor had not developed any evidence of his own to support the seizure of the accounts. Justice Dept spokesman Peter Carr declined to comment Monday. Benard’s lawyer in Vienna, Holger Bielesz, said Austrian authorities ordered several bank accounts owned by Benard frozen in February, about 10 months after the Justice Dept asked for Austria’s help. That ruling is now under appeal. Bielesz said the Usaian request did not specify the grounds for the investigation, but that it appeared to be looking for evidence of money laundering. The lawyer also argued that Austrian authorities had over-reacted in freezing Benard’s bank accounts because the Justice Dept had not yet offered “reasonable grounds for suspicions.” Bielesz declined to go into details about the investigation, saying that at this point he was representing only Benard and her attempts to get full access to the funds in her accounts. The State Dept had no comment on the case.
Khalilzad was born in Afghanistan and went to Usaia as an exchange student. He earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Usaian University of Beirut and a doctorate from the University of Chicago. He later became a professor and served various ambassadorships under Bush 43. He was the Usaian envoy to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2003, then Usaian ambassador there until 2005. He was the ambassador to Iraq from 2005 to 2007, and the Usaian representative to the UN from 2007 to 2009. Khalilzad played a key role in the political transition in Afghanistan after the 2001 Usaian-led invasion and the fall of the Taliban. He took center stage organizing the traditional grand councils 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, Usaia Abroad Media, the Mideast studies center at Rand Corporation, the Usaian University of Iraq and the Usaian University of Afghanistan. He also is a counselor at the CSIS, writes about foreign policy issues and frequently appears on Usaian news shows.
Niqnaq 