Goodman company was alleged to have breached UN sanctions by US

Confidential documents have revealed how Anglo Irish Meat Company Ltd was alleged in 1991 of having supplied bulk milk powder to Iraq through a front company in Jordan.

Documents released by the National Archives and seen by the Irish Farmers Journal allege that the Larry Goodman-owned beef company breached UN sanctions against Iraq.

The UN sanctions were imposed on Iraq in the wake of its invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in the summer of 1990.

Classified message

In a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs from an official at the Embassy of the United States, the official wrote that the embassy had received a classified message from Washington, the contents of which are quoted below:

“We have reason to believe that Anglo-Irish Meat Company Ltd is attempting to provide bulk milk powder to Iraq through a front company in Jordan.

We encourage appropriate action by Irish authorities to ensure that Irish firms comply with the UN sanctions against Iraq

“As you may recall, we previously passed information regarding this firm’s activities to supply other foodstuffs to Iraq. We encourage appropriate action by Irish authorities to ensure that Irish firms comply with the UN sanctions against Iraq.”

The letter was dated 18 January 1991 and was issued to confirm a conversation held on 17 January with “regard to United Nations sanctions against Iraq”.

Five days later, the recipient of that letter in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Paul Barnwell, the first secretary of the foreign earnings division at the Department, signed a document marked confidential which summarised the previous contact “with US embassy concerning alleged infringement of the embargo”.

That document reveals that in late October 1990, the US embassy phoned the Department about a suspicion that Kerrygold products sold to a company called “Dreams” in the Lebanon were intended for trans-shipment to Iraq.

“The Department of Agriculture were requested to investigate. That Department consulted Bord Bainne on the matter.

“The result of the enquiry, as set out in a letter of 23 November from the Department of Agriculture, showed that Bord Bainne had no knowledge of, or dealings with, the firm “Dreams”,” the document said.

Exports of dairy products earlier in the year to the Lebanon had pre-dated the sanctions

An Bord Bainne was the previous name of the Irish Dairy Board and which today is known as Ornua and owns and sells Kerrygold butter.

“Exports of dairy products earlier in the year to the Lebanon had pre-dated the sanctions,” the document said.

‘Expressed satisfaction’

The US official, Curtis Stone, was informed of the result of the enquiry during a visit on 7 December 1990 and he “expressed satisfaction” with the result of the enquiry.

“In the course of the same visit on 7 December, Mr Stone informed [an Irish official] that US sources had information that a senior official of AIBP (Anglo Irish Beef Processors), who was not named, had visited Baghdad recently and that they had suspicions that efforts were being made to sell some products to Iraq.

Mr Stone acknowledged that the information was vague but said that he would make further enquiries and let us know if anything more concrete were to emerge

“Mr Fitzgibbon [the official] asked him if he could obtain more definite information on which an enquiry could be based. Mr Stone acknowledged that the information was vague but said that he would make further enquiries and let us know if anything more concrete were to emerge. Mr Stone did not provide further information on the matter. No further action was taken therefore.”

ABP was contacted for comment.