UN officials 'covered up Saddam theft of billions in aid for Iraqis'
By David Rennie in Washington
(Filed: 22/04/2004 )
Saddam Hussein diverted huge sums from the £60 billion United Nations oil-for-food programme for the poor and sick of pre-war Iraq to foreign governments and vocal supporters of his regime worldwide, the US Congress heard yesterday.
Senior UN, French and Russian officials were alleged to have connived at the scandal, said Claude Hankes-Drielsma , who is leading the Iraqi Governing Council inquiry into the affair.
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Named: Benon Sevan |
He said some suppliers, mostly Russian, routinely sent out-of-date or unfit food, or sent fewer goods than were paid for and padded out contracts. In that way they created an excess that could be skimmed off by Iraqi officials.
One of those named in Iraqi files as having received bribes on the sale of oil is Benon Sevan , the UN official in charge of the programme. Mr Sevan , who is on extended leave pending retirement, denied the claims.
Mr Hankes-Drielsma , a former leading executive at the London-based auditors Price Waterhouse, said that Saddam and his henchmen pocketed billions in surcharges and bribes.
The biggest humanitarian scheme in the UN's history had provided the dictator and "his corrupt and evil regime with a convenient vehicle through which he bought support internationally by bribing political parties, companies, journalists and other individuals of influence.
"The very fact that Saddam Hussein , the UN and certain members of the Security Council could conceal such a scam from the world should send shivers down every spine in this room today."
Mr Hankes-Drielsma , now the chairman of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, was closely questioned by Democrats on the House government reform committee about a list of 270 names published in the Al Mada newspaper this year. Some were believed to be reputable oil traders but Mr Hankes-Drielsma said that others raised many questions.
The names included the office of President Vladimir Putin , of Russia ; Charles Pasqua , the former French interior minister; Jean -Bernard Merimee , the former French ambassador to the UN; the Indian Congress Party; President Megawati Sukarnoputri , of Indonesia ; the Palestinian Liberation Organisation; and a prominent British MP.
Mr Hankes-Drielsma was asked if Al Mada was owned by his friend and associate, Ahmad Chalabi , a member of the governing council.
He replied that it was owned by an Iraqi of some "animosity" to Mr Chalabi and that the council regarded the leaking of the list as regrettable. However, he confirmed that the leaked list was the same as one that Iraqi oil ministry officials had drawn up late last year from documents he believed were genuine.
British and American ambassadors to the UN repeatedly protested about oil smuggling and other abuses. But the Americans have conceded that their main aim was to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Iraq .
The oil-for-food programme, which operated from 1995 until last year, allowed Iraq legally to export oil worth billions of pounds despite UN sanctions so that children and other vulnerable members of the population could receive food and medicine.
The burgeoning scandal of the diverted funds has led to the creation of five inquiries. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, promised another yesterday. He said: "Obviously we take these allegations seriously. I want to get to the truth."
The UN has been struggling to contain the scandal, which has broken at a sensitive time as it prepares to take on a central role in Iraq 's future.
Investigations are also aggravating transatlantic tensions, as the congressional inquiries - there are three of them - have been inspired by Republican politicians. Jean -David Levitte , the French ambassador to the United States , sent a passionate letter to the hearing, accusing Right-wing American journalists of launching a "new campaign of unfounded accusations against my country".
Allegations that Paris "turned a blind eye" to the paying of bribes by French companies or that French policy towards Iraq was driven by "the lure of oil" were completely false, M Levitte said. The allegations could "only have been an effort to discredit France ".
All oil-for-food contracts had to be approved by the 15 members of the Security Council, including Britain and America , he said.
M Levitte added: "Was there corruption and bribery inside the programme? Frankly, I don't know." That was why France supported the UN inquiry: "The truth must come out."
A turf war seems to have broken out over who should conduct the investigation in Baghdad . Paul Bremer , the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, has been accused of delaying it, reflecting President George W Bush 's pressing need to secure United Nations support if it is to manage a smooth transition to Iraqi sovereignty on June 30.
Senior Bush government officials testifying before Congress left little doubt that Mr Bremer did not support the investigation commissioned by the Iraqi Governing Council.
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