Iraqi money cannot be accounted for by occupying forces responsible for the funds, according to two new reports.
Discrepancies are highlighted in the handling of $20bn (£11bn) generated from Iraq’s oil and other sources since war ended last year.
The Coalition Provisional Authority was given responsibility for the country’s finances by the United Nations.
The UN stressed that money in the Development Fund for Iraq must be shown to be used in Iraq’s best interests.
It was understood that all revenues would be paid into a central fund.
This is such an attempt to shut up the UN Oil for Food scandal. They accuse the US of corruption and get both swept under the rug. Not denying something untoward didn’t happen as it is certainly possible.
There is $10 Billion dollars missing. The CPA was supposed to be keeping track, but they’re gone now.
Krugman explains it all for you:
Yesterday a leading British charity, Christian Aid, released a scathing report, “Fueling Suspicion,” on the use of Iraqi oil revenue. It points out that the May 2003 U.N. resolution giving the C.P.A. the right to spend that revenue required the creation of an international oversight board, which would appoint an auditor to ensure that the funds were spent to benefit the Iraqi people.
Instead, the U.S. stalled, and the auditor didn’t begin work until April 2004. Even then, according to an interim report, it faced “resistance from C.P.A. staff.” And now, with the audit still unpublished, the C.P.A. has been dissolved.
Defenders of the administration will no doubt say that Christian Aid and other critics have no proof that the unaccounted-for billions were ill spent. But think of it this way: given the Arab world’s suspicion that we came to steal Iraq’s oil, the occupation authorities had every incentive to expedite an independent audit that would clear Halliburton and other U.S. corporations of charges that they were profiteering at Iraq’s expense. Unless, that is, the charges are true.
It’s hard to imagine someone stealing $10B, but it looks like someone, or a group of someones just did.
YOU CAN HAVE PART OF THIS $10 BILLION TO HELP ME CARRY IT AWAY FROM EVIL GOVERNMENTS. PLEASE SEND ME YOUR BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, DATE OF BIRTH, AND MOTHERS MAIDEN NAME SO I CAN COMPLETE THE TRANSACTION.
At least $8.8 billion in Iraqi funds that was given to Iraqi ministries by the former U.S.-led authority there cannot be accounted for, according to a draft U.S. audit set for release soon.
The audit by the Coalition Provisional Authority’s own Inspector General blasts the CPA for “not providing adequate stewardship” of at least $8.8 billion from the Development Fund for Iraq (news - web sites) that was given to Iraqi ministries.
One of the main benefactors of the Iraq funds was Texas-based firm Halliburton, which was paid more than a billion dollars out of those funds to bring in fuel for Iraqi civilians.
The monitoring board said despite repeated requests it had not been given access to U.S. audits of contracts held by Halliburton, which was once run by Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites), and other firms that used the development funds.
Outside of initial shock value, is there really any hope that things like this will ever be resolved? It seems like a way to provide patronage jobs and assign people to doing the equivalent of investigative busywork. I mean, in who’s best interest is it to get to the bottom of this? Yes yes, I know the it’s in the people’s best interest, but you know what I mean.
