“I asked de Villiers about his next novel, and his eyes lighted up. ‘It goes back to an old story,’he said. Lockerbie. The book is based on the premise that it was Iran — not Libya — that carried out the notorious 1988 airliner bombing. The Iranians went to great lengths to persuade Muammar el-Qaddafi to take the fall for the attack, which was carried out in revenge for the downing of an Iranian passenger plane by American missiles six months earlier, de Villiers said. This has long been an unverified conspiracy theory, but when I returned to the United States, I learned that de Villiers was onto something. I spoke to a former C.I.A. operative who told me that ‘the best intelligence’ on the Lockerbie bombing points to an Iranian role. It is a subject of intense controversy at the C.I.A. and the F.B.I., he said, in part because the evidence against Iran is classified and cannot be used in court, but many at the agency believe Iran directed the bombing.” The Spy Novelist Who Knows Too Much — Robert F. Worthjan

There has been a persistent “rumor” that Iran paid US$ 10 million to the PFLP-GC terrorist organization of Ahmed Jibril in the immediate aftermath of the Lockerbie tragedy. This is simply disinformation. Although the CIA and the DIA have often claimed to have evidence of such ‘payment’, a quick look at the source document will easily convince you that this legend was built around a suspicious transaction that has nothing to do with the Lockerbie tragedy. The SCCRC came to the same conclusion. Although Richard Marquise (FBI) is not willing to discuss the issue (the information is still classified), I believe that he agrees with my findings. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

The following quote from “The Trail of the Octopus” is a good example of the allegation made against Iran.

“[The] minister of the interior, Ali Akbar Mohtashemi, was placed in charge of planning Iran’s revenge [for the downing of Iran Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes on July 3 1988]. At a meeting in Tehran on 9 July 1988, he awarded the contract to Ahmed Jibril, a former Syrian army officer and head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), based in Damascus. Although Jibril later denied his complicity in the bombing, he was reported to have bragged privately that the fee for the job was $10 million. Unnamed US government sources let it be known that the CIA had traced wire transfers of the money to Jibril’s secret bank accounts in Switzerland and Spain.”

I have discussed this issue before. Indeed, many ‘Lockerbie experts’ in MSM, Academics, Intelligence and Political circles have accepted as fact the story of a Iranian payment to Jibril as an act of revenge for the downing of IRAN Flight 655.

Gerard De Villiers

French writer Gerard De Villiers has even written a novel about it. In that story, Son Altesse Sérénissime (SAS) Malko Linge is tasked by the CIA to recover the proof of the US$ 10 million bank transfer.

The CIA does not intend to formally use this evidence to accuse Tehran but plan to blackmail the ‘ayatollahs’ in giving up their nuclear program. Uncharacteristically, Malko’s mission end in failure and there seems no hope to ever recover these documents. [The novel was criticized by Frank Duggan and the Cohen family.]

Controversy

This alleged “payment” is indeed a subject of intense controversy at the C.I.A. and the F.B.I. as I found out.

Former CIA Bob Baer told the SCCRC all he knew about this (and other) payment. On several occasions, Baer told me that the intelligence regarding this matter was “Class A”.

On the other hand, Richard Marquise – FBI agent who led the US side of the Lockerbie investigation – told me that he had seen the evidence and that the money transfer had nothing to do with Lockerbie.

Unlike SAS Malko Linge, I have found the paperwork of this infamous money transfer. Don’t you want to know? Read on!

Former CIA Bob Baer

Considering the importance of Baer’s allegations, he was interviewed by the SCCRC. Here is the main conclusion of their report on this matter:

15.7 According to the submissions Mr Baer provided the following information at these meetings: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (“PFLPGC”) and Talb both received substantial payments after the bombing of PA103. In particular Mr Baer had details of bank accounts showing payments of $11m to the PFLP-GC in Lausanne on 23 December 1988 and $500,000 to Talb on 25 April 1989 in Frankfurt. According to the submissions Mr Baer believed the payments came from Iran. 15.30 As with his claim about the meeting in July 1988, the Commission considers Mr Baer’s allegation about the payment to be inadmissible hearsay. More importantly the results of the Commission’s enquiries refute the allegation that a payment of $11m was made to a PFLP-GC account on 23 December 1988.

Source Document

Well, here is the PRIMARY evidence of the “US$10 million transaction”. Check the currency! It amounts to a bit more than 10 million Spanish Pesetas! [SCCRC investigators believe that this account may have been used for money laundering operations.]

FBI Richard Marquise

Long ago, I asked Richard Marquise to comment on the following information:

“Two day after the bombing, communication intercepts indicate that Tehran ordered their Ambassador in Beirut to pay Jibril Organization for the successful operation. The transfer of the money is recorded and Dalkamoni was in possession of the Paris bank account number when he was arrested.”

Marquise — who led the Lockerbie investigation at the FBI — kindly replied to my question:

“I am aware of some of this – it is classified – but has nothing to do with Lockerbie or a PAYMENT”, Marquise told me on 02/11/2008.

I believe that Marquise is right about this. This transaction – and all other transactions to and from his account (and its many joint accounts) – has absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with Pan Am 103.

Also, the SCCRC found no evidence that Dalkamoni was in possession of the Paris bank account number when he was arrested.

PS: Account 20551

The account 20551 was investigated by the SCCRC.

15.36 According to DS Russell’s report, account 20551 was known to have been used on occasions for laundering large sums of money. His report also states the following: on 21 April 1989 $500,000 was transferred to account 20551 by individuals named Al Zein Zaki and Shihabi Omar Ali; on 24 April 1989 $490,000 was transferred from account 20551 to the Indosuez Bank in Paris and was returned the same day;

Again, the SCCRC found no link between these money transfers and Abu Talb.

Secret CIA testimony identifies real Lockerbie mastermind

REFERENCES

A RIDDLE, WRAPPED IN A MYSTERY, INSIDE AN ENIGMA — PT35B

New York Times: The Spy Novelist Who Knows Too Much ; By ROBERT F. WORTHJAN. 30, 2013

French author accused of making capital out of the Lockerbie bombing in spy novel

Trail of the Octopus by Donald Goddard and Lester K Coleman (1993 UK; 2009 USA), pages 15-16.

SAS : ‘Son Altesse Sérénissime (His Serene Highness) is a series of espionage novels created by French author Gérard de Villiers, featuring prince Malko Linge as the lead character. In order to finance the repairs of his castle in Liezen, Austria, main character Malko Linge works as a freelance agent for the CIA. The CIA sends him on dangerous missions all over the world.’ [Wikipedia]

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Lockerbie — “Till Truth Do Us Part” [The Legend of the Iranian Payment]