Iraq has decided to sell Saddam Hussein's luxury yacht after winning a legal battle over its ownership.
The 82-metre Ocean Breeze is fitted with swimming pools, a mosque, a missile-launcher and mini-submarine.
"The cabinet has decided to sell the yacht of Saddam Hussein, docked in Nice (France), and the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs were responsible for the transaction," government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh said.
The boat built for the former dictator was seized by French authorities in January after it docked in the Riviera city.
It remained moored there while courts settled a row over its ownership between the Iraqi government and a yacht brokerage firm.
Cayman island-based company Sudeley Limited, part-owned by King Abdullah of Jordan, claimed to be the legal owner.
A London yacht broker acting for Sudeley's tried to sell the Ocean Breeze for a reported £17m.
But the Iraqi government, which has a right to recover Saddam's property, argued that the vessel belonged to Iraq.
It successfully persuaded a French commercial court to block the sale until its ownership was decided.
Jordan renounced claims to ownership of the yacht in a letter in July, clearing the way for Iraq to sell it.
The 82-metre Ocean Breeze is fitted with swimming pools, a mosque, a missile-launcher and mini-submarine.
"The cabinet has decided to sell the yacht of Saddam Hussein, docked in Nice (France), and the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs were responsible for the transaction," government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh said.
The boat built for the former dictator was seized by French authorities in January after it docked in the Riviera city.
It remained moored there while courts settled a row over its ownership between the Iraqi government and a yacht brokerage firm.
Cayman island-based company Sudeley Limited, part-owned by King Abdullah of Jordan, claimed to be the legal owner.
A London yacht broker acting for Sudeley's tried to sell the Ocean Breeze for a reported £17m.
But the Iraqi government, which has a right to recover Saddam's property, argued that the vessel belonged to Iraq.
It successfully persuaded a French commercial court to block the sale until its ownership was decided.
Jordan renounced claims to ownership of the yacht in a letter in July, clearing the way for Iraq to sell it.
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