Posted on 10/06/2004 3:26:34 PM PDT by 11th_VA
NEW YORK - The top U.S. arms inspector accused the former head of the $60 billion U.N. oil-for-food program of accepting bribes in the form of vouchers for Iraqi oil sales from Saddam Hussein's government while running the program, according to a report released Wednesday.
The report by Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, alleges the Iraqi government manipulated the U.N. program from 1996 to 2003 in order to acquire billions of dollars in illicit gains and to import illegal goods, including acquiring parts for missile systems.
The alleged schemes included an Iraqi system for allocating lucrative oil vouchers, which permitted recipients to purchase certain amounts of oil at a profit.
Benon Sevan, the former chief of the U.N. program, is among dozens of people who allegedly received the vouchers, according to the report, which said Saddam personally approved the list. The secret voucher program was dominated by Russian, French and Chinese recipients, in that order, with Saddam spreading the wealth widely to prominent business men, politicians, foreign government ministries and political parties, the report said.
The report names former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri, and the Russian radical political figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky, for example, and other foreign governments range from Yemen to Namibia.
Previously, those officials and others whose names have emerged in the face of multiple ongoing investigations of corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program have denied wrongdoing. The program was designed to allow limited oil sales to pay for humanitarian goods.
Asked about the fresh allegations against Sevan, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the organization wouldn't talk about specifics and noted that Paul Volcker, the former chief of the Federal Reserve Bank, was conducting an independent investigation at the U.N.'s request.
"We are not going to comment on any specific allegation against Mr. Sevan or anyone else," Eckhard said. "This is in the hands of Paul Volcker. We are cooperating with him fully. Benon Sevan is cooperating with him fully, and we will wait for Volcker's judgment. Benon, meanwhile, stands by his statement that he's done nothing wrong."
According to the Duelfer report, which got its information from the former Iraqi oil ministry, Sevan allegedly received vouchers for 7.3 million barrels of oil through various companies and representatives recommended to Iraqi ministries by Sevan. The financial take would have been in the range of $700,000 to $2 million, depending on oil prices then.
Critics of the oil-for-food program and U.S. congressional investigators have long alleged that administration of the program was rife with corruption and failed to prevent illicit business deals and massive kickbacks to the Iraqi government.
The report said, "Saddam was able to subvert the UN OFF (oil-for-food) program to generate an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue outside U.N. control from 1997-2003." And it said the voucher program, "provided Saddam with a useful method of rewarding countries, organizations and individuals willing to cooperate with Iraq to subvert U.N. sanctions."
Reports that Sevan had received oil vouchers first emerged in January when the Iraqi daily Al-Mada newspaper published a list of alleged recipients including Sevan. But Duelfer's report details the allegations and provides a new degree of credibility.
In April, the United Nations appointed Volcker to head the independent investigation of the growing scandal. Four congressional panels have also been investigating the corruption and accusations that Saddam used leverage from the program to influence foreign governments and particularly members of the Security Council, who would vote whether to maintain sanctions.
"Once the oil for food program began, it provided all kind of levers for him (Saddam) to manipulate his way out of sanctions," Duelfer told Congress on Wednesday.
The new report details how the Iraqi government filled its coffers with billions of dollars in illegal revenue from smuggled oil and illegal kickbacks while the U.N. program was running.
"The Regime quickly came to see that OFF (oil-for-food) could be corrupted to acquire foreign exchange both to further undermine sanctions and to provide the means to enhance dual-use infrastructure and potential WMD-related development," the report said, referring to weapons of mass destruction - though none were found in Iraq after the U.S. invasion.
Immunity from prosecution? That country is a lost cause.
Who was, who were, Clinton's cut-outs?
U.N oil-for-food program is directly responsible for the deaths of American soldiers.
And I personally believe that some of this money helped finance the terrorists to do 9-11.
The Korean war, Vietnam, the United Nations are responsible for the deaths of some Americans.
Why we give money and trade with communist and socialist countries is beyond me.
Read Olly North's new book which says Russia, China, France, Germany were selling weapons to Iraq even after President Bush gave orders to go into Iraq a little over a year ago.
I think they have put United Nation personell in command structure of our military, judges, and departments of U.S. governments that make sure we go by international laws.
Is it possible that those WMD's were transported out in those UN trucks during their inspection tours? just a thought.
btt
More important is the President going to crucify Kerry and his UN and French buddies tomorrow night with this?
You would think they would of already started, I see nothing out of the White House. Incredible.
This is a god send to destroy Kerry and his global test BS. How can you form an alliance with people that are being bribed by the enemy?
He was duly elected, arranged by it's rumoured Ch'Iraq and is now immune.......
The story is getting traction, just at the right time, I can't imagine that GW will ignore it.
Volker after all was Fed Chief, would he let the US down and go down in history as an accomplice.
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