European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 22, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                1 " How Duvalier plundered Haiti associated press t he Duvalier family squeezed a hug personal Fortune from the Western hemisphere s poorest nation by pocketing tax revenues arranging kickbacks on Federal contracts and misusing International Loans say current and former government officials. The extent of ousted president for life Jean Claude Duvalier s Fortune is not known but most estimates put it at hundreds of millions of dollars. Pierre Sam Haiti s newly appointed ambassador to the United states said in an interview recently that he figured the plunder at Between $100 million and $800 million. Haiti s ruling Council has announced the formation of a seven member commission to investigate Duvalier s financial activities. Earlier it expropriated Duvalier s haitian property including at least 13 Homes one estate of close to 2,000 acres 247 paintings and other Art objects and a Fleet of luxury cars along with his top aides property. The Council released a list of Duvalier s holdings but did not place a Dollar value on the property or goods. Elliott Abrams the . Assistant Secretary of state for inter american affairs told reporters that the United states would cooperate with Haiti in recovering the National assets. He said it would be More difficult than it was in the Philippines because the United states does not have documents As it did when former president Ferdinand e. Marcos fled to exile in Hawaii. Duvalier fled Haiti on feb. 7 to temporary exile in France following months of mass demonstrations against his harsh Rule. Finance minister Mercel Leger said a Large chunk of Duvalier s Fortune came from the state controlled Minot Erie d Haiti flour Mill where Duvalier collected $1 for every 100-Pound sack of flour the Mill produced a total of $2.5 million a year. Yves German Joseph a former member of the Mill s Board of directors said in a letter to the newspaper be Matin that Duvalier s take was even higher $800,000 a month including contributions to phony charities and inflated service contracts. In 1983, Jean Claude asked Minot Erie to give him $8 million said Marc Bazin Duvalier s finance minister in 1982, who was fired after six months when he insisted the president and his top advisers pay taxes. Of course it was done Bazin said in an interview referring to the $8 million. It was transferred from one account to  former Central Bank gov. Jean Claude Sanon told a recent news conference that up to $1 million was deposited by government agencies into National Security accounts at the Bank which Only Duvalier had Access to. The state sugar Council of the neighbouring dominican Republic said it paid Duvalier $2 million in Cash earlier this year to deliver 19,000 haitian Cane cutters to help with the annual sugar Harvest. The military civilian Council that replaced Duvalier under Public pressure to cancel the contract because of harsh working conditions on the dominican plantations said it would refund the $2 million. The Cash which went straight to Duvalier generally was carried by the ambassador Haiti s former ambassador to Santo Domingo Hervee Dennis in his car Bazin said. Radio Metropole a news station in port a Prince reported last month that Duvalier received $30,000 a month from operations at the International Airport including part of the $15 departure tax paid by every passenger leaving Haiti. Bazin said Duvalier had direct Access to Many government accounts. Each ministry had a special obligation line in the budget that was not justified explained said Bazin a respected economist who until last december was the United nations representative for the world Bank. Former president of Haiti Jean Claude Duvalier his wife Michele and one of his children in exile. Up photo this is open corruption.". Another scheme was to sell licenses and Grant monopolies Bazin said. He said that in recent years Duvalier sold Haiti s allotment of Coffee and sugar under the . Quota system to other countries thus giving them higher sales and himself easy Cash. Bazin said such practices undermined Haiti s agricultural sector to such an extent that Coffee production stagnated to 1960 Levels and sugar must be imported. Both crops once gained Large amounts of foreign Exchange. In 1983, Duvalier misused about $20 million of a $37 million loan from the International monetary fund said Bazin who helped negotiate the loan the year before. He did not provide details. Sam said it was known that Duvalier had pocketed a great Deal of foreign Aid Money. Bazin said Duvalier tuesday april 22, 1986 also siphoned funds from companies conducting business with the government including those that sold pension and medical insurance. He said when people filed their claims for the first pension benefits which were to be paid last year the companies did not have funds to pay them. A source at the information ministry who demanded anonymity said taxes on necessities were often pocketed by Duvalier. The source said that was Why the new military civilian Council acted quickly to lower the Price of gasoline sugar cooking Oil and other Basic commodities. It was possible to lower prices without losing Revenue because the government had not been receiving taxes. The whole system was based on the idea that the reason you have Power is to make Money Bazin said. The whole system was corrupt. It was  the stars and stripes Page 13