Ownership dispute clouds sale of Saddam yacht

updated 2:49 p.m. ET Feb. 15, 2008

PARIS - A palatial pleasure yacht fitted with swimming pools, salons and, should the winds of war blow, a secret passage and a rocket launching system is up for sale — unless Iraq can prove the vessel built for Saddam Hussein still belongs to the toppled dictator's entourage.

The 269-foot sea palace, docked at Nice on the French Riviera, was seized by French authorities Jan. 31 ahead of a court hearing expected to be held in March to determine who owns the vessel, originally built for Saddam when he ruled Iraq.

The government in Baghdad suspects the yacht is an Iraqi asset. But the posh yacht brokerage firm Nigel Burgess says that other owners, whom it will not name, have asked it to sell the vessel.

The company offers a brief photo tour of the vessel on its Internet site. The decor is sumptuous. The sale price is officially unannounced but reportedly set at 24 million euro (about $35 million U.S.).

A desert fox more than a sailor, Saddam never used the boat he had built in 1981, according to the lawyer representing the Iraqi government in the matter, Ardavan Amir-Aslani.

In fact, it barely spent time in Iraqi waters. As war with Iran raged, the yacht, originally called "Qadisiyah Saddam," was moved to the safety of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Jedda in 1986, where it reportedly stayed until last fall.

Renamed yacht ties up in Nice
It showed up in Nice in late 2007 with a new name, Ocean Breeze, embossed on its streamlined white hull. Its ownership is now as uncertain as the shifting sands, shrouded in mystery, and perhaps intrigue. A cohort of Saddam? A Saudi royal? Or a wealthy jetsetter hiding behind a shell company?

Video   Take a tour of dictators' digs NBC's Robert Windrem takes you on a satellite tour of the palaces of the rich and powerful. NBC News Web Extra

"The yacht was ordered and paid for by the Iraqi government at the beginning. That is certain," the lawyer said in a telephone interview. Now, the Iraqis believe the vessel "may belong to Saddam's entourage."

"Iraq is basically trying to recover the money of the Iraqi people that was unlawfully transferred abroad," Amir-Aslani said.

However, the vessel has a Caribbean connection. A "legal entity" incorporated in the Cayman Islands claims to own the boat, the attorney said, but it is hiding the "beneficial owner," whose identity "is what we need to discover."

This is not the first time Iraq has sought the return of Saddam's overseas treasures in France. Just months ago, it successfully reclaimed a villa in Cannes, near Nice, Amir-Aslani said. He said other cases are pending, but he refused to elaborate.

When it hears of assets that may belong to Saddam Hussein or his entourage, "Iraq immediately reacts."

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