Saddam 'took tractor-loads of cash from bank'

Saddam Hussein ordered that nearly $1bn (€882m) be taken from Iraq’s Central Bank shortly before the United States began bombing Baghdad and sent his son Qusai to grab the cash in the middle of the night, a newspaper reported today.

The amount of money – some $900m (€794.4m) in US $100 bills and €88m (in euro notes) – was so large it had to be taken from the bank in three tractor trailers, The New York Times reported.