The Hindu : International : Massive graft in post-war Iraq

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005

International

International

Massive graft in post-war Iraq

By Suzanne Goldenberg

WASHINGTON, FEB. 1. An official U.S. audit provided evidence yesterday of widespread corruption in post-war Iraq, finding that America's occupation authority failed to keep track of nearly $9 billion in reconstruction funds.

The scathing report by Stuart Bowen Jr., the inspector general for reconstruction, said that while the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was careful to monitor the spending of U.S. taxpayers' money in Iraq, it failed to provide proper oversight of projects paid for with Iraq's own funds. The critique added to warnings from U.S. and international auditors about weak financial controls in Iraq and growing evidence of fraud.

It blamed the CPA for failing to keep track of the disbursement of development funds from Iraq's oil revenues, the oil-for-food programme and seized assets. The authority approved hundreds of millions of dollars contracts without seeking detailed budget plans from Ministries.

The report was criticised by the former CPA chief, Paul Bremer, who said it was unfair to expect proper accounting pratices at a time of unrest in Iraq. —

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