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"From the outset Auchi kept out U.S. companies and U.S. technology," said Shaw of the bidding process for the Iraqi cell contracts. "There is a gold rush out there [Iraq]. The opportunity is there. There is so much money floating around that the Iraqi minister of communications went to London, passed $20 million to Auchi to have him start the process."

There is so much money out there that Shaw apparently wanted in on it, too:

2003 fall : (NANA PACIFIC / GUARDIAN NET CASE : PENTAGON OFFICIAL SHAW ACCUSES US & IRAQI OFFICIALS OF ACCEPTING BRIBES IN THE AWARDING OF THREE LICENSES TO PRIVATE CELLPHONE SERVICE COMPANIES IN IRAQ - BUT SHAW IS ALSO PUSHING A COMPANY ASSOCIATED WITH HIS FRIEND, DON DEMARINO, CALLED "GUARDIAN NET" TO WIN A CONTRACT FOR WORK IN IRAQ THROUGH A MINORITY RUN COMPANY CALLED "NANA PACIFIC") [Pentagon deputy undersecretary for international technology security John A. "Jack"] Shaw first raised concerns in fall 2003 about whether U.S. and Iraqi officials were bribed in the awarding of three licenses to private companies to provide cellphone service in Iraq. The licenses were each estimated to be worth several hundred million dollars. At the same time, he began championing a company called Guardian Net, whose board included longtime friend Don DeMarino, to win a contract to provide a police and fire radio system to Iraq, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents.

Shaw urged top CPA officials to award the contract to Nana Pacific, a small business run by Alaska Natives. Nana, which had no experience in the Middle East or in telecommunications networks, then planned to subcontract the work to Guardian Net, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents.

Under special federal contracting guidelines designed to help small and minority businesses, firms like Nana Pacific have the ability to win contracts of any size without going through the competitive bidding process usually required to protect taxpayer dollars.

The plan fell apart after Shaw ordered CPA officials to modify language in the police radio contract to allow the Nana Pacific and Guardian Net team to construct an entire cellular phone network for Iraq — creating, in effect, a fourth cellphone license, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents.

Daniel Sudnick, the CPA's senior advisor to Iraq's Ministry of Communication, reported his concerns over Shaw's efforts to the Pentagon's inspector general, who later turned the investigation over to the FBI.

FBI officials declined to comment Friday on the status of that investigation. ----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004