European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 23, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday july 23, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 9huge Oil Perth Australia up a prospects were improving late monday for averting an environmental disaster following a huge Oil spill from a fire damaged greek Tanker off the coast of Western Australia authorities said. Officials reported the threatening Oil Slick was Drifting slowly with prevailing currents away from Shore breaking up in Choppy seas and thinning through the High evaporation rate of the Light crude. The fully Laden Kirk was in route from the persian Gulf to British Petroleum soil refinery at Winana near Fremantle when it caught fire sunday and spilled More than 140,000 barrels of. Oil into the Indian Ocean about 22.Miles off the coast and 124 Miles North of Perth. Crew members said they believed the fire that engulfed the Forward Section of the vessel was caused by friction when heavy seas and driving winds ruptured a Bow Section which broke away. High seas doused the flames. The Oil Slick some 35 Miles Long and More than three Miles wide has drifted 20 Miles out to sea the officials said but still under threat were the major West australian lobster Industry As Well As Large colonies of sea Lions arid sea Birds that nest on a string of nearby islands stretching South from the Slick. But authorities were hopeful that prevailing favourable weather conditions would continue and assist the cleanup control and Salvage efforts. Winds abated monday and the Slick was Drifting slowly with the current away from the coast in a southwesterly direction said Mike Calway senior coordinator for the australian Marine safety authority. He emphasized however a change of wind could renew the threat of the Slick reaching Shore. Calway said the 97,000-ton Kirk was under slow Tow away fro the coast and emergency Crews had managed to Seal off the remaining 420,000 barrels of Oil. He said the plan was to Tow the Kirk 600 Miles North to the shelter of the Monte the greek Tanker Kirk founders in the Indian Ocean after spilling More than 140,000 barrels of Oil on sunday. Bello islands and attempt to Siphon off the remaining Oil into another Tanker. Meanwhile 30 of the tankers 37 greek Crew who were put unharmed onto helicopters in a Rescue Effort sunday after the Tanker caught fire were transferred by bus to a Perth hotel. Seven other Crew members including the Captain and officers were standing by m the town ready to rejoin the Tanker when it was Safe enough to help super Vise Salvage operations. A this is a catastrophe Type proportion Oil spill a said capt. Richard Purkiss head of the West australian Marine and harbours department. A this is the worst category you could possibly have its a major major  All available Oil dispersal and control equipment was being rushed to the area monday from the australian Marine Oil spill response Center based in Mel Bourne. That included huge amounts of equipment dispersant chemicals Miles of containment booms skimmers and storage tanks for Oil recovery. The $8 million Center was set up just this year to combat major Oil spills off the australian coast. Major Oil companies including Ampol Bop Petroleum Cal Tex Oil Mobil Oil Esso and the Shell companies combined to set zip the Center. Newspaper says terrorists kept funds in scandal plagued Bank by Steven Prokesch the new York times London a Abu Nidal the palestinian terrorist and 10 other terrorists and arms dealers had 42 act counts at London branches of the Bank of credit and Commerce International the sunday times of London reported. A. J quoting a secret Bocci documents a the newspaper said one of the 10 was Ben Banerjee an Indian born arms dealer named in the iranian arms for hostages scandal and another was Samir Najmeddin whom the paper described As an iraqi businessman who supplied arms to iraqi president Saddam Hussein and to Argentina during the Falla kids War. The paper said British intelligence services had informed the Bank of England Britain scentral Bank and banking regulator  jihad among those responsible for kidnapping westerners in Beirut had almost certainly also used the Bank. The article is the latest charge that British officials knew something was seriously amiss at the Bank Long before regulators around the world seized most of its global operations july 5. The seizure followed an investigation by Price waterhouse the Bank a auditor which the Bank of England ordered in March. The sunday times said Hassam Ahmed Qassem manager of the Bank a Sloane Street Branch in London until january 1990, was informing British intelligence services about some accounts held by terrorists and arms dealers. It also reported that he said the terrorist accounts had been set up with the knowledge of senior Bank officials. A a Bocci first acknowledged the existence of Nidal a secret accounts in december 1989,�?� the paper said a when Qassem told Basheer Chowdry by Cir a United kingdom general manager that he had passed information about the accounts to mi5,�?� the British intelligence unit. A emr. Chowdry notified the Bank of  the sunday times quoted an internal Bank report As saying a Qassem told Chowdry that the accounts were being maintained by Bocci for terrorists or others associated with the terrorist operating under the Nom de Guerre Abu Nidal. Qassem further told Chowdry that an account existed for Abu Nidal under a false  Abu Nidal whose real name is Sabry Banna is the Leader of the Fatah revolutionary Council which broke away from a1 Fatah Yasser Arafat a mainstream component group of the Palestine liberation organization in 1973. Western Law enforcement authorities consider Abu Nidal responsible for nearly 100 terrorist attacks in the last 16 years including bombings at airports in Rome and in Vienna Austria in 1985.Chowdry did not respond to Telephone messages left at his London Home seeking comment on the sunday times Story. The Bank of England also did not return Calls. British intelligence informed the Bank of England in Early 1990, according to the sunday times. And the Bank of England began an investigation a code named project q after Qassem a through Price waterhouse. The paper said the team included a Price waterhouse partner two senior Bank of credit officials and Roger Pierce a Scotland Yard special Branch officer. The paper said the team sent a Progress report in August 1990 to John Bartlett head of the Bank of England a supervisory Section dealing with Banks in North America and Europe. The team then sent the Central Bank another report in january 1991 that identified the 11 customers Ana 42 accounts. One account was in the name of Shakir Farhan an Abu Nidal pseudonym the paper said. Another was in the name of Sas trading and investments which the paper said was a panamanian registered company whose treasurer was Abu Nidal. The newspaper mentioned several arms transactions said to involve the Bank. In one an Abu Nidal front company got a letter of credit to pay for weapons made by a Nottingham factory of Royal ordnance now part of British aerospace pc the paper  japanese forced to resign in Stock scandal Tokyo apr the chairman and vice chairman of Nomura securities co., the worlds largest brokerage resigned monday after criticism that the company Nas not taken full responsibility for the scandal in Japan a Stock Market. Nomura a chairman Tetsuya Tabuchi and vice chairman Yoshihisa Tabuchi announced their resignations at a news conference and were demoted to the status of advisers the company said. The two Are not related. Nomura has admitted to compensating major customers for millions of dollars in Stock Market losses and having had financial dealings with an organized crime figure. Yoshihisa Tabuchi had been Nomura a president until he resigned from the Post june 24 after the scandal broke. He then became vice chairman. In addition to Yoshihisa Tabuchi a earlier resignation As president Nomura and three other Large brokerages linked to the scandal a Nikko Uaiwa and Yamaichi securities a restricted business activities for four Days this month at the direction of the finance ministry. The practice is not illegal but violated a 1989 finance ministry directive. It also infuriated investors who were not compensated. Share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Slid monday for the fifth consecutive trading Day in extremely Light trading As the Market awaited a parliamentary investigation into the scandal thursday. It was the lowest turnover in a full Day s trading since aug. 27, 1984