U.N.: Ex-Liberia leader may have assets

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is believed to have substantial financial assets despite his demand that the court prosecuting him for war crimes cover his legal costs because he is indigent, U.N. investigators said in a report obtained Thursday.

A five-member panel's report to the U.N. Security Council said there were credible allegations that Taylor had investments in Nigeria that have not been frozen. It noted that Taylor had a "large sum of money" when he was arrested trying to flee Nigeria in 2006.

The panel is investigating the effectiveness and impact of sanctions against Liberia and progress toward lifting some of them.

The U.N. ordered an asset freeze against Taylor and his associates, but the current Liberian government has not yet enacted legislation authorizing a freeze, the panel said.

Taylor went into exile in Nigeria five months after being indicted on 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is accused of arming and controlling rebels who raped, mutilated and enslaved civilians during the 10-year civil war in Liberia's neighbor, Sierra Leone. The war ended in 2002.

After his arrest, Taylor was transferred to The Hague, Netherlands, amid fears that trying him in Sierra Leone could provoke fresh violence in the region.

Taylor, a Libyan-trained guerrilla fighter, was elected president in 1997 but was forced from power under a 2003 peace deal that ended Liberia's civil war. He has been linked to brutality in his own country, but Liberians have opted for a truth and reconciliation commission rather than a court.

Taylor boycotted the start of his trial on June 4 and fired his lawyer, saying he did not believe the proceedings would be fair.

"Although Charles Taylor claims to be indigent and has requested that Special Court for Sierra Leone cover his legal costs, there have been credible allegations of investments in Nigeria that remain unfrozen," the panel said.

"The government of Nigeria did not permit the panel to investigate these allegations," the report said.

The panel also said that at least 16 percent of taxes paid by the Oriental Timber Corporation paid _ totaling $4.5 million _ "were deposited directly into the bank accounts of Charles Taylor."

It cited bank records indicating that Natura Holdings Pte, which held the largest timber concessions in Liberia, was credited in July 2001 with paying $2 million in taxes, which corresponds to a deposit made to Taylor's private bank account soon after.

"Millions more may have been deposited into other foreign accounts, but definitive information on the ownership (of) these bank accounts has been difficult to obtain," the panel said.

In a report last year, the panel said evidence indicated Taylor had "significant investments in Nigeria, such as in real estate."