Posted on 05/17/2004 1:46:44 AM PDT by crazycat
An investigation into the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the United Nations is being hampered by the US-led administration in Iraq, according to congressmen and officials in Baghdad.
Serious reservations have been raised over the appointment of auditors Ernst & Young to investigate the disappearance of billions of pounds under the UN oil-for-food programme
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Serious reservations have been raised over the appointment of auditors Ernst & Young to investigate the disappearance of billions of pounds under the UN oil-for-food programme.
Much of the money is alleged to have been handed to Saddam Hussein's friends in the West.
Some 270 people and organisations were named in documents submitted to Congress including the MP George Galloway, the former French interior minister Charles Pasqua, the Russian nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and Benon Sevan, the UN official in charge of the programme.
Many of those named, including Mr Galloway, have denied any wrongdoing.
Concern centres on the motive for the appointment of Ernst & Young, a renowned firm of auditors, by Paul Bremer, the coalition's chief administrator in Iraq.
Ernst & Young's inquiry will duplicate work begun three months ago by the equally reputable accountancy firm of KPMG on behalf of Iraq's governing council (IGC).
"We have serious reservations about the way the investigation [into corruption] is being handled and are awaiting the answer to a range of questions we have put to the Bush administration," Christopher Shays, a Republican Congressman from Connecticut said.
In a letter to President Bush this month, Mr Shays expressed deep concern over the "apparent conflict between the coalition provisional authority (CPA) and the Iraqi governing council over the exercise of audit authority".
"The actual review of the records has been delayed for weeks. Some believe important documents are at risk of being altered or destroyed."
KPMG was appointed in February by the IGC to investigate suspected corruption in the UN-administered oil-for-food programme under Saddam. At least £6 billion is alleged to have gone into the pockets of individuals and companies.
In late March, however, Mr Bremer intervened, saying he would not release funds to pay KPMG, which had already made substantial progress in locating documents in Iraq, unless the contract was put out to tender. The IGC duly put out the contract and, on April 18, at a meeting attended by members of the coalition authority, KPMG's submission was deemed best. KPMG was appointed to lead the inquiry with a promise of £3 million to fund it.
Meanwhile, the CPA announced on April 9 that it would appoint its own auditors to investigate the allegations. Ernst & Young was formally appointed last Thursday to lead the CPA investigation.
"The CPA decided that after prior tender, the firm of Ernst & Young were the best qualified to pursue the necessary investigation," a CPA spokesman said.
Adam Bates, of KPMG, echoed congressional reservations about the CPA's intervention, "long after we had made substantial progress of our own". Should KPMG not receive the £3 million promised, its inquiry will stall.
US congressmen have become concerned and angry over the way Mr Bremer is running the CPA and Mr Shay's office demanded an explanation of his actions.
"Some of the problems may be the result of personal conflict between Mr Bremer and Ahmed Chalabi [one of the nine rotating presidents on the IGC]," said a congressional source.
"We know Bremer was unhappy about the leaking of a list of 270 people who received payments under the oil-for-food programme."
Claude Hankes-Drielsma, a management consultant for the IGC, accused Mr Bremer of "putting the brakes" on the running investigation "after it became headline news".
"Our concern is that with the CPA's auditors ordering the collection of all relevant documents in one place, we will lose not only time but vital links in the chain. The Iraqis kept meticulous records."
Mr Hankes-Drielsma claimed the IGC, with the help of KPMG, had already located "hundreds of millions" of pounds that came out of illicit oil-for-food profits in Middle East bank accounts.
ping
Mark Rich of Clinton pardon fame has already surfaced. How many more is the US uneasy about?
As murky and troubling as BNL or BCCI.
...RATs!
Well if you keep announcing investigations about to take place over documents not yet seized and under control of the auditors, by the time anyone actually begins to look at the documents, the important evidence has disappeared.
But which Congress critters are saying this? Could they have been on Saddamn's Christmas bonus list? Sounds to me like maybe some of the suspects want to get an idea of how much is known.
Doesn't he do one to the Iraqi people now and then?(Let that sink in.)
This whole thing stinks.
GW and the GOP have a golden oportunity here, to shut up nearly all their critics, they had better use it, or they will deserve their problems.
http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2004/tr20040512-0746.html
Kim.
Q Yeah, Dan, I was wondering if you could tell us how the investigation by the Governing Council is proceeding into the oil-for- food. And also, is there any threat to the funding of this investigation by Ambassador Bremer?
MR. SENOR: No, not at all. The investigation into the oil-for-food program fraud case has been shifted by the coalition from the Governing Council to the Board of Supreme Audit. The basis for that shift is that the Board of Supreme Audit -- the Iraqi Board of Supreme Audit is a more politically independent and objective body. But we are still overseeing the funding of that program and investigation, and intend to fund it.
As for who will conduct the actual audit, what firm conducts the actual audit, I've been told that the tender for that has closed on April 20th. And the Board of Supreme Audit is doing a technical review right now of the submitted proposals, and will have an announcement to make shortly. But the process is moving forward.
And I'd also add, Kim, that Ambassador Bremer, from the moment this broke and there was -- the U.N. announced that it was conducting an investigation, the U.S. Congress announced that it was conducting its investigation, Ambassador Bremer issued a directive to all the ministers and the directors-general of all the ministries advising them to collect all documents pertaining to the oil-for-food program and setting them aside so they could be collected and put in a safe location so that they could be used to assist all the investigations that are ongoing, including the one conducted by the Board of Supreme Audit.
Well, I've got news for them. It's all gonna leak out sooner or later. Frankly I'm less concerned with reputations than the future of Iraq. The people who had anything to do with aiding and abetting Saddamn cannot be allowed to get their mitts on Iraq, whether it's to cover their a$$es or pay their bills.
Duh. I love it when a plan comes together.
I thought KPMG is doing the audit?
The problem I see is political for the President, Bremer is 'his guy'. If anyone is going to pull his plug, it has to be GWB himself. I think he's hoping that he can ride it out until July, we'll see.
This speaks volumes. I was certainly not unhappy with the release nor, I would guess, was any other Freeper.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: In Government (and that includes the Bush Administration) Friends don't let Friends get accused of bribery. That is an international brotherhood. I do not trust the Bush Administration any more than I would a Clinton Administration to get to the bottom of the U.N. Oil for Bribery scandal because they would see it as interfering with "diplomatic relations".
Sad but true.
At worst, he has 45 days left.
Reminds me of Bush shelving all the ongoing Clinton investigations.
And in 45 days, when his successor, hand-picked by the UN's Brahimi, takes over, I'm sure he's going to have a keen interest in uncovering the UN Oil-for-Food scandal.
There is a very short timeline before this scandal, probably the biggest financial scandal in the history of the world, gets squashed for ever.
Why?? who else is on the list?
BUMP!!!
Hmmm I hope that someone more familiar with the legalities of international politics can help out here.
1. Those documents are copied somewhere if American soldiers risked their lives to find them.
2. We need to demand the documents be made public in the manner that abuse pictures and 9/11 documents have been demanded.
3. If the corruption is entrenched as heavily, as we know it is, we need to demand a re- examination into the UN members that were uncooperative and even hostily opposed to the Iraqi invasion.
4. We need to demand our withdrawal from the UN and demand reparations for their participation in the corruption and hostile objections to our invasion. Perhaps a "refund" LOL of the money we have given to the UN from the beginning of the war until we get some cooperation here.
5. Without a doubt their are Americans involved in this as well, we need to prosecute their participation and parade them around in women's underwear... Sorry, i just had to lighten up. This scandal and coverup attempt makes me very angry.
It seems obvious the EU wants to part company, what could it hurt to be the first one to admit it?
I had no idea. And to think, all this time I thought he was making a brave, sincere effort over there
This speaks volumes. I was certainly not unhappy with the release nor, I would guess, was any other Freeper.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: In Government (and that includes the Bush Administration) Friends don't let Friends get accused of bribery. That is an international brotherhood. I do not trust the Bush Administration any more than I would a Clinton Administration to get to the bottom of the U.N. Oil for Bribery scandal because they would see it as interfering with "diplomatic relations".
Sad but true.
I look at it another way. The "list" and associated documents are ammunition for coercing the UN et. al. to comply with America's wishes towards Iraq now and after the turnover. Think of it long the lines of:
"We know what you did and we have the names, dates, places, amounts and everything associated with how you subverted the oil-for-food money to your own use. This will be publicly disclosed and prosecuted in both the US, Iraq and Allied countries unless you comply with our wishes."
It maybe a question of using the oil-for-food information for the right time to gain maximum leverage.
Just a thought...
There was some talk about it a week or two ago, I'm looking for the source.
I think he has been, this looks like an anomaly, so far.
I didn't know this... WHY was he appointed when he is a D?
Thanks Striper. I think it is laughable that the Clintonoids have been busy trying to claim Bremer as one of their own.
Bremer worked for Kissinger in the Nixon White House; He was Reagan's counter-terrorism coordinator before Ronnie named him Ambassador to the Netherlands; Republican Denny Hastert named Bremer chairman of the congressional commission on terrorism - NOT CLINTON
Bremer has a history of doing what is right, not what is expedient and will advance his career. I highly doubt Bremer would find much in common with John Kerry or any of the clowns who would undoubtedly populate a Kerry administration.
Where is the justice in your scenario? Are you really willing to have the US Gov.resort to blackmail and obstruction of justice in order to get the wholly corrupt UN to "go along" in Iraq?
You've already led several people astray here.
Don't believe everything you read on FR. ;o)
That would be odd considering he is often named by pundits as a potential successor to Sec of State Powell.
Good question!
There has been a couple articles, (you will find them on FR) about the Kerry people interviewing Bremmer and the fact he is on the short list for Sec of State in a Kerry admin.
This info drew a lot of condemnation from FReepers, and then sort of disappeared????????
I don't know if someone is just pulling our leg, or if the story has legs?
In the story, Bremmer has not denied it, or the denial has not been made public.
We should know after the handover.
You are implying that this approach is "justice delayed, justice denied". Other than American citizens and business operating in the US involved in the oil-for-food scandal, there's a large number of individuals and entities that are immune from US prosecution either from diplomatic immunity or the fact that they are outside our legal juristiction.
Those that fall into the second category need to receive justice in a different manner. To make my point, Marc Rich "suffered" greatly as an international fugative in Switzerland. Apparently, he has learned nothing from his terrible internment in the Alps and is now defrading the Iraqi people instead of Americans.
Those involved in the oil-for-food scandal are not the same types that rob a convience store and the manner that they are investigated, probed and prosecuted will be quite different as well.
WOW! That would be incredible, if true. That would require a complete 180 on ideology and policy.
I still think it is the Dems trying to float misinformation.
I'm with you Ohio. I think there is a whole lot of misinformation being passed around.
Not really different. I agree with you. That's what "Diplomatic Relations" are all about.
I'm sure you are right about this and I expect the Bush Administration will get results from the arm twisting they can do by trading the witholding of public disclosure of the members of the Food for Bribes Program for cooperation from the U.N., Russia and France. I even speculated in another thread that this was the real purpose behind the Condi Rice visit to Russia.
Yes, it could be misdirection, as it is in the case of John McCain.
It would certainly not be the first time the rats salted the information highway.
I don't doubt that that is what may indeed happen.....but such action would be just as corrupt as the Oil for Food allegations, IMHO.
Other than some applause from the DU folks and some comments on the Kerry boards, I can't seem to find what started it.
Perhaps we got snookered by some enterprising infiltrator. I have to say, that the entire idea is questionable, but diplomats are often two faced. I dunno??????????
I don't have any inside info, but I've assumed from the beginning that this will be largely a whitewash 'investigation'. Too many connected people that mustn't be embarrassed.
We've already read reports of missing ducuments, etc. & the U.N. telling companies & individuals to only cooperate with the U.N. sanctioned Volker investigation.
The fix is in big time.
P.S. Thank you for taking the time to do some research.
If you run across anything on this topic, give me a ping. :)
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