Wikileaks: Sudan's President Bashir 'stole billions'

Diplomats quoted the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as saying that much of the money may be stashed in London banks.

The allegations released by the Wikileaks website have been published by the Guardian newspaper.

Sudan has denied the claims.

The cables quoted ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo as telling US officials that some of the funds may be held by the part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group. He reportedly said it was time to go public with the scale of Mr Bashir's theft.

"Ocampo suggested if Bashir's stash of money were disclosed (he put the figure at $9bn), it would change Sudanese public opinion from him being a 'crusader' to that of a thief," one report by a senior US official said.

"Ocampo reported Lloyds bank in London may be holding or knowledgeable of the whereabouts of the money," the cable said.

Lloyds has responded by saying it has no evidence of holding funds in Mr Bashir's name.

"We have absolutely no evidence to suggest there is any connection between Lloyds Banking Group and Mr Bashir. The group's policy is to abide by the legal and regulatory obligations in all jurisdictions in which we operate," the bank said.

Correspondents say that if Mr Ocampo's claim about Bashir's fortune is correct, the Sudanese funds being held in London banks amount to one tenth of the country's annual GDP; Kazinform cites BBC News.

See www.bbc.co.uk for full version.