US stealling and/or misusing Iraq's oil revenue ?
Investigations into how the U.S-led coalition spent Iraq’s oil revenues after the fall of Baghdad in 2003 have found several problems. Last month, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) on Iraq reported serious problems with the way a $20 billion fund for Iraqi rebuilding had been handled.
“We cannot take the moral high ground,” insists Pratap Chatterjee, author of Iraq Inc., and a war critic who has made several trips into the region. “We took the money, we spent it any way we wanted. We kept no track of the money. How are we able to judge what went on before?”
Soon after Saddam was toppled in April 2003, the CPA was established as a temporary authority until the interim Iraqi government took over in June 2004. Under the CPA, the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) was created, in part to handle and disburse Iraq oil revenues, frozen and vested assets, and leftover funds from the Oil-for-Food program.
The IAMB — a group created by a coalition of international organizations, including the United Nations — concluded that the CPA mishandled Iraqi oil revenues from May 2003 to June 2004.
Among the results of its December report:
— More than $812 million in non-competitive bid contracts handled by Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., included “overstated” and “unsupported” costs.
— Inadequate payroll systems and poor accounting of DFI payments to various Iraqi ministries and to contractors as well as a lack of oil metering made it difficult to determine how much oil was being extracted for sale.
— An unknown quantity of petroleum was smuggled out of Iraq in the first months following the coalition invasion of Iraq.
Read the full IAMB report by (pdf).
The IAMB is not the only group to raise questions about U.S. dollars being spent in Iraq.
According to July reports by CPA Inspector General Stuart Bowen, the Development Fund for Iraq paid out more than $1.5 billion in reconstruction contracts worth more than $5 million. (Even though CPA no longer exists, Bowen continues to serve as the inspector general for U.S-led Iraq reconstruction projects.)
Review all of the CPA's audit reports by .
Of that, more than $981 million of that money was given to Kellogg Brown & Root in no-bid deals, although some published reports indicate the company has received at least $1.4 billion in DFI contracts total.
Bowen’s report also said that millions of dollars in cash and assets had not been properly managed or secured during the May 2003 to June 2004 period, mirroring many of the same complaints by the IAMB.
U.S government and Halliburton officials downplayed the latest IAMB report.
But the IAMB isn’t the only one investigating the handling of Iraqi assets. According to accounting firm KPMG, the external auditor for the IAMB, projects paid for by DFI funds are also being investigated by the Justice Department and other U.S agencies.
Re: US stealling and/or misusing Iraq's oil revenue ?
And, this surprises you?
Pathetic...they should all be prosecuted and thrown in jail. Bastards.
Re: US stealling and/or misusing Iraq's oil revenue ?
no surprise here-- unfortunatly :(
Jail sounds like the proper place for many members of current admin., I agree !