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LIBERIA: U.S. Shipping Registry Funded Arms Purchases, U.N. Says
The Liberian Corporate & Maritime Shipping Registry, based in Tysons Corner, Va. [Virginia], helped fund weapons purchases by Liberian President Charles Taylor in violation of a U.N. embargo, according to the U.N. sanctions committee on Liberia, which will release a new 135-page report tomorrow. The U.S.-owned and -run registry, the world's second largest, is Liberia's largest source of income. Last year, it made four payments into nongovernmental accounts -- payments cited in the report as going to arms and transportation "in violation of the sanctions." Registry Chief Executive Yoram Cohen said the registry "never knowingly made a payment to an arms dealer," adding, "It's not our job to conduct any due diligence as to whom we pay money -- it's the government's money."