Iraq hunting $17 billion missing after U.S. invasion

[mikey409]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110619/wl_nm/us_iraq_usa_money;_ylt=Ajga62n2TVdqKewcEqllVM1vaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJlZXBsNjlyBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTEwNjE5L3VzX2lyYXFfdXNhX21vbmV5BHBvcwM0BHNlYwN5bl9tb3N0X3BvcHVsYXIEc2xrA2lyYXFodW50aW5nMQ--

By Waleed Ibrahim Waleed Ibrahim – Sun Jun 19, 2:16 pm ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq's parliament is chasing about $17 billion of Iraqi oil money it says was stolen after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and has asked the United Nations for help to track it down.

The missing money was shipped to Iraq from the United States to help with reconstruction after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

In a letter to the U.N. office in Baghdad last month, parliament's Integrity Committee asked for help to find and recover the oil money taken from the Development Fund of Iraq (DFI) in 2004 and lost in the chaos that followed the invasion.

"All indications are that the institutions of the United States of America committed financial corruption by stealing the money of the Iraqi people, which was allocated to develop Iraq, (and) that it was about $17 billion," said the letter sent to the U.N. with a 50-page report.

The committee called the disappearance of the money a "financial crime" but said U.N. Security Council resolutions prevent Iraq from making a claim against the United States.

"Our committee decided to send this issue to you ... to look into it and restore the stolen money," said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

U.N. officials were not immediately available for comment.

SALARIES, PENSIONS

The DFI was established in 2003 at the request of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), the U.S. body headed by Paul Bremer that governed Iraq after the invasion. The fund was to be used to pay the salaries and pensions of Iraqi government workers and for reconstruction projects.

In 2004, the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush flew billions of dollars in cash into Iraq. The money came from the sale of Iraqi oil, surplus funds from the U.N. oil-for-food program and seized Iraqi assets.

Last July, an audit report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) said the U.S. Department of Defense was unable to account properly for $8.7 billion of Iraqi oil and gas money after the 2003 invasion.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told Al Jazeera television on Sunday: "No one on the Iraqi side was controlling the work of Paul Bremer at that time. So I think the administration of the United States needs to give the answers for where and how this (money) was being used.

"We do understand that Iraqis are also engaged in such lack of transparency and corruption related to the Paul Bremer time in Iraq," he added.

Osama al-Nujaifi, Iraq's parliament speaker, said a committee was investigating what happened to some $20 billion of DFI money.

"Some of these funds were spent and are documented. But some do not have such documents," he said. "We as a parliament are working together with the Iraqi Board of Supreme Audits and with coordination of SIGIR to know where this money ended up."

The appeal to the United Nations could help Iraq recover its money by putting its case before the international community, said Bahaa al-Araji, the head of the Integrity Committee.

"We cannot sue the Americans. Laws do not allow us to do that. All we want is to get this issue to the U.N.," Araji said. "If this works, it will open the way for Iraq to restore its stolen money."

In 2003, the CPA issued an order granting immunity to U.S. personnel and institutions working in Iraq.

(Editing by Jim Loney)

[aliciadogz]

ITS A LOST CAUSE, GET OVER IT!! RV already!!!

[majors121]

first it was the 6.6....now its 17? come on guys, i dont believe any of it

[FrankenSLI]

If there is any truth here I am sure by now all tracks are covered well. It is time to quit whining and start thinking about the future.

[Nelg]

Certainly the country of Iraq needs to know where and who got the money. No one is going to admit taking the money, therefore the need for an investigation. This is not a bookkeeping error, but it may be a failure to log who got the funds. But I do think I would be miffed if I thought someone just stole 20 billion from the coffers.

But the USA is just as lac. They can't find about a trillions dollars. Some one has the money. It is just a question of who, was it legitimate for them to get the money, was it stolen, is it misplaced, is it still in the banks? But the point is, no one wants to be the one to start probing into sensitive areas. They should, but the will not.

[Jrose]

My question is was it the old Dinar or the new Dinar? I have also heard that the new Iraqi Government is turning on the American Government thinking we need to pay them for all the suffering the Iraqi people have been through. I really dont see how that works out as they would be in a whole lot more despair with Saddam in power. You give someone a foot and they want to take a mile. Dont get me wrong, if it was their money they have every right to locate it but look what other countries have done for them with forgiving all their debt. It's more than just Iraqi who has suffered pain and hardships through out this process. I agree to a point to just move on as they will be better off in the end. They want the Americans out then just finish what needs to done. Because everyone wants this to end. Just my thaught.

[wicked93gs]

It was USD from oil sales(I believe from siezed Saddam accounts), not Dinar...just another indication Iraq is nowhere close to RVing

[Luigi1]

Corruption.

I know of $80 Million that went for construction of a new hospital in Basra in late '03. Only servey pegs in ground to show for it. The money just vanished.

Another $80 Million under the Reconstruction Act was released in '04. Dirt was escivated & moved into a pile. No Hospital. Again...poof...money vanishes.

Another $80 Million released in '05. The dirt was moved from one pile over to another pile. Still no hospital. Poof.

Twenty hospitals could had been built for the total amount spent over 3 years. Nothing to show for it but a pile of dirt and a few servey pegs in ground.

Congresional investigations in '06 turned up nothing.

This is just one example of how things are done in Iraq. No book keeping, no paper trails, no reciepts, no accountability. No nothing.

The US taxpayer gets stiffed again.