Oil for bribe

A committee of inquiry is to analyze the oil for Food program of the UN for the Iraq, from that ten billion dollar of Saddam Hussein became evaded.

by Thomas von der Osten-Sacken

So far 2004 for the UN were not a particularly good year. While the BBC radiates still another series over the failure of the world-wide organization in Rwanda one decade ago, the suspicious factors increase themselves, that of the UN cared for program "oil for food" was in the Iraq a gigantic corruption scandal, which Swiss nwewspaper „Weltwoche" already calls "Kofigate". Because instead of the bellies of distressed Iraqis it seems to have filled in the first place black accounts of Saddam Husseins, while further hundreds of millions of dollar at bribes were paid and dubious companies were assigned the completion of the program. After UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had rejected for months all reproaches and the program praised also after final completion on 20 November 2003 still as one of the most successful humanitarian missions in the history of the world-wide organization, in the meantime documents are present from Iraqi Ministries, which induced Annan now to agree the installation of an independent commission of inquiry.

"In view of the available facts the UN in its responsibility failed to me in relation to the Iraqis and the international community perfectly", complained recently the lawyer Claude Hankes Drielsma assigned by the Iraqi transition advice the investigation of the case. The program emerged "as one of the world-wide most embarrassing cases of corruption, when example of control lacking to continue responsibility and transparency, which served Saddam Hussein as instrument, under the eyes of the UN its reign of terror and remove its suppression apparatus". Only even if one part of the reproaches raised against the UN should prove to be true, the world-wide organization would have helped for many years Saddam Hussein to enrich itself and its faithful ones excessive by watching dormant, how the Iraqi dictator enormous sums from the program supervised by it evaded and world-wide him genehme persons, parties and lubricated governments. Saddam Hussein took from the estimated 70 billion dollar, which brought in "oil for Food" in six years since 1997, and from waited oil smuggling over the neighboring countries Iraq according to estimations altogether ten billion dollar, which flowed on black accounts, instead of the population, who depended according to data of the UN to 60 per cent on the program to come to property. Thus it explains itself also why by themselfes administered Kurdish north Iraq, where nevertheless minimum control of the program functioned, a noticeable improvement of the situation occurred, while Iraqi propaganda continued to complain about thousands of children in the south and central Iraq, which starved allegedly because of the regime of UN Sanktions. To them the assistance never arrived in sufficient measure, also if the programm could have moderate the need in Irak . Because the original idea of the oil for Food program consisted of it, to let the Iraq sell oil under controll, with whose proceeds over an hold in trust account food and medicine for the needy Iraqi population should be imported. In this way the regime should help the population to and be prevented to procure weapons and dual use goods. A large transparency of the Iraqi purchases and the fiscal policy should be ensured likewise as possible. For this reason the UN received from each sold barrel of Iraqi oil 2.2 per cent of administratives expense and employed both in the Iraq and in Washington several thousand coworkers for the monitoring of the program.

The UN did not release it to the Iraqi dictator however to assign companies of its choice the purchase from goods, but to kept the names of these companies secret, both before the Irakis as well as the press. On 15 April the US-American Treasury presented a list by eight Iraqi companies, which procured weapons for the regime ", to money shifted and on behalf of Iraqi secret services acted". Among these companies are al-Wasel & Babel general Trading. Allegedly assigned the import by food, al-Wasel is to be deeply involved in smuggling of arms and money laundering for the regime. Even al-Qaida could have thus profited, to Marc Perelman in the US newspaper „Forward", of the oil for Food program. The journalist uncovered different financial cross connections between Saddam and the terror network in the past summer. A contract company of the UN program, those in Liechtenstein resident „Asat trust2, which completed its business with the bank al-Taqwa on the Bahamas, in one after 11 September 2001 published UN Terrorreport as "with al-Qaida closely connected" classified. Al-Taqwa again is this report according to in the possession the Muslim brotherhood, in the supervisory board sat a time long also the neo-Nazi and Islamkonvertit Ahmed Huber.

The trick, which Saddam used, in order to come to the billions, consisted primarily to spend oil coupons far under market price on imported goods and other services which could redeem the receivers then to the world price higher up to 30 per cent. The receiver, other one kept parts of the money on black Iraqi accounts was transferred back. In addition Saddams contract companies required too expensive fantasy prices for the goods supplied by them, a part of the Surplus spreader then likewise the Iraqi state. Money, with which these days the Iraqi resistance in such a way specified finances itself, might originate in majority, so the US-American journalist Claudia Rosett, from these black cashes of the regime.

Oil coupons were used also as bribes for Saddam probably-reflected persons and institutions. On 25 January the Iraqi newspaper al-Mada published a list, which had been found in the documents of the Iraqi oil Ministry. On this list were approximately 270 persons and institutions (Jungle World, 7/04). Embarrassinglyon the list also is the name Bevon Sevan. Sevan was the leader of oil for Food, imposed by Kofi Annan, , and under its auspice the UN closed with the Iraq an agreement that all contracts, which with Saddam companies locked should be kept secret. In addition Sevan extended the mandate of the program up to that "oil for Food plus", which entered into force 2002 and it made it for the Iraq possibleto import , for enormous sums furniture, car and telecommunications for the need of the Iraqi information Ministry and Ministry of Justice over unfaithful hand accounts among other things. ABC News is present a letter of the former Iraqi oil Minister from the year 1998, in which this Sevan asks, over which company it its portion of oil coupons at a value of 3.5 million barrel to redeem wants. In addition, Kofi Annan stands now under suspicion: If the British Lloyd's supervised the supplies to the Iraq in the year 1998, then Swiss company „Cotenca Inspections" received the job in this year. In this company Annans son Koyo of at the end of of 1995 to at the end of of 1997 worked, later functioned it than advisor for it.

So far the documents of the BNP Paribas, a french bank, over which the program was completed, are not present. The past week in the next months still another abundance of embarrassing details will probably discover assigned committee of inquiry.

Article appeared on 28 April in „Jungle World" NR. 19

>> Article in German

		Druckversion
	Oil for bribe A committee of inquiry is to analyze the oil for Food program of the UN for the Iraq, from that ten billion dollar of Saddam Hussein became evaded. by Thomas von der Osten-Sacken So far 2004 for the UN were not a particularly good year. While the BBC radiates still another series over the failure of the world-wide organization in Rwanda one decade ago, the suspicious factors increase themselves, that of the UN cared for program "oil for food" was in the Iraq a gigantic corruption scandal, which Swiss nwewspaper „Weltwoche" already calls "Kofigate". Because instead of the bellies of distressed Iraqis it seems to have filled in the first place black accounts of Saddam Husseins, while further hundreds of millions of dollar at bribes were paid and dubious companies were assigned the completion of the program. After UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had rejected for months all reproaches and the program praised also after final completion on 20 November 2003 still as one of the most successful humanitarian missions in the history of the world-wide organization, in the meantime documents are present from Iraqi Ministries, which induced Annan now to agree the installation of an independent commission of inquiry. "In view of the available facts the UN in its responsibility failed to me in relation to the Iraqis and the international community perfectly", complained recently the lawyer Claude Hankes Drielsma assigned by the Iraqi transition advice the investigation of the case. The program emerged "as one of the world-wide most embarrassing cases of corruption, when example of control lacking to continue responsibility and transparency, which served Saddam Hussein as instrument, under the eyes of the UN its reign of terror and remove its suppression apparatus". Only even if one part of the reproaches raised against the UN should prove to be true, the world-wide organization would have helped for many years Saddam Hussein to enrich itself and its faithful ones excessive by watching dormant, how the Iraqi dictator enormous sums from the program supervised by it evaded and world-wide him genehme persons, parties and lubricated governments. Saddam Hussein took from the estimated 70 billion dollar, which brought in "oil for Food" in six years since 1997, and from waited oil smuggling over the neighboring countries Iraq according to estimations altogether ten billion dollar, which flowed on black accounts, instead of the population, who depended according to data of the UN to 60 per cent on the program to come to property. Thus it explains itself also why by themselfes administered Kurdish north Iraq, where nevertheless minimum control of the program functioned, a noticeable improvement of the situation occurred, while Iraqi propaganda continued to complain about thousands of children in the south and central Iraq, which starved allegedly because of the regime of UN Sanktions. To them the assistance never arrived in sufficient measure, also if the programm could have moderate the need in Irak . Because the original idea of the oil for Food program consisted of it, to let the Iraq sell oil under controll, with whose proceeds over an hold in trust account food and medicine for the needy Iraqi population should be imported. In this way the regime should help the population to and be prevented to procure weapons and dual use goods. A large transparency of the Iraqi purchases and the fiscal policy should be ensured likewise as possible. For this reason the UN received from each sold barrel of Iraqi oil 2.2 per cent of administratives expense and employed both in the Iraq and in Washington several thousand coworkers for the monitoring of the program. The UN did not release it to the Iraqi dictator however to assign companies of its choice the purchase from goods, but to kept the names of these companies secret, both before the Irakis as well as the press. On 15 April the US-American Treasury presented a list by eight Iraqi companies, which procured weapons for the regime ", to money shifted and on behalf of Iraqi secret services acted". Among these companies are al-Wasel & Babel general Trading. Allegedly assigned the import by food, al-Wasel is to be deeply involved in smuggling of arms and money laundering for the regime. Even al-Qaida could have thus profited, to Marc Perelman in the US newspaper „Forward", of the oil for Food program. The journalist uncovered different financial cross connections between Saddam and the terror network in the past summer. A contract company of the UN program, those in Liechtenstein resident „Asat trust2, which completed its business with the bank al-Taqwa on the Bahamas, in one after 11 September 2001 published UN Terrorreport as "with al-Qaida closely connected" classified. Al-Taqwa again is this report according to in the possession the Muslim brotherhood, in the supervisory board sat a time long also the neo-Nazi and Islamkonvertit Ahmed Huber. The trick, which Saddam used, in order to come to the billions, consisted primarily to spend oil coupons far under market price on imported goods and other services which could redeem the receivers then to the world price higher up to 30 per cent. The receiver, other one kept parts of the money on black Iraqi accounts was transferred back. In addition Saddams contract companies required too expensive fantasy prices for the goods supplied by them, a part of the Surplus spreader then likewise the Iraqi state. Money, with which these days the Iraqi resistance in such a way specified finances itself, might originate in majority, so the US-American journalist Claudia Rosett, from these black cashes of the regime. Oil coupons were used also as bribes for Saddam probably-reflected persons and institutions. On 25 January the Iraqi newspaper al-Mada published a list, which had been found in the documents of the Iraqi oil Ministry. On this list were approximately 270 persons and institutions (Jungle World, 7/04). Embarrassinglyon the list also is the name Bevon Sevan. Sevan was the leader of oil for Food, imposed by Kofi Annan, , and under its auspice the UN closed with the Iraq an agreement that all contracts, which with Saddam companies locked should be kept secret. In addition Sevan extended the mandate of the program up to that "oil for Food plus", which entered into force 2002 and it made it for the Iraq possibleto import , for enormous sums furniture, car and telecommunications for the need of the Iraqi information Ministry and Ministry of Justice over unfaithful hand accounts among other things. ABC News is present a letter of the former Iraqi oil Minister from the year 1998, in which this Sevan asks, over which company it its portion of oil coupons at a value of 3.5 million barrel to redeem wants. In addition, Kofi Annan stands now under suspicion: If the British Lloyd's supervised the supplies to the Iraq in the year 1998, then Swiss company „Cotenca Inspections" received the job in this year. In this company Annans son Koyo of at the end of of 1995 to at the end of of 1997 worked, later functioned it than advisor for it. So far the documents of the BNP Paribas, a french bank, over which the program was completed, are not present. The past week in the next months still another abundance of embarrassing details will probably discover assigned committee of inquiry. Article appeared on 28 April in „Jungle World" NR. 19 >> Article in German WADI e.V. \| tel.: (+49) 069-57002440 \| fax (+49) 069-57002444 http://www.wadinet.de \| e-mail: