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Key findings from U.N. oil-for-food probe

http://www.bakersfield.com/24hour/world/story/2848612p-11509453c.html

The Associated Press

The Independent Inquiry Committee issued a 623-page final report on corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program. Here is a look at its key findings.

- More than 2,200 of the 4,500 companies that participated in the program paid kickbacks or illegal fees to Saddam Hussein's regime, earning him $1.8 billion.

- Some 18 million barrels of oil were allocated for British lawmaker George Galloway, an outspoken opponent of U.N. sanctions against Iraq, for later sale. A portion of the profits from those sales were put into a bank account belonging to his wife.

- The United Nations is responsible for the lack of transparency in the program that contributed to the abuses that plagued oil-for-food. According to the investigators, that underscores the need for urgent U.N. reform, especially if the world body wants to take on a program of this magnitude ever again.

- Former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who headed the world body when the oil-for-food program was launched, is cleared of accepting bribes. Volcker had earlier raised suspicion about the extent of his involvement.

- Russian companies contracted for about $19.3 billion under oil-for-food, about 30 percent of its overall $64 billion worth. That made Russia by far the largest participant in the program.

- Name-brand companies accused of paying kickbacks include DaimlerChrysler, Siemens AG, Volvo Construction Equipment and Daewoo International. There are U.S. companies including Bayoil and Coastal Corp., and Russian oil giant Gazprom.

- Banque Nationale de Paris S.A., known as BNP, was the bank that monitored the U.N. account that held oil money. It did not disclose fully to the United Nations that it knew of shady financial relationships and front companies that led to the payment of illegal surcharges.

- Jean-Bernard Merrimee, France's former U.N. ambassador, received $165,725 in commissions from oil allocations awarded to him by the Iraqi regime. The report said Merrimee ultimately received allocations that totaled approximately 6 million barrels.