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The Institute for Ethics and Economic Policy (IEEP) |
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SUICIDE ATTACK KILLS
oil traders
implicated in corruption. According
to reports, companies that bought Iraqi oil from traders who allegedly spent
billions of dollars to bribe Saddam Hussein for contracts under the U.N.
oil-for-food program now could be implicated in the vast web of corruption
uncovered in the investigation. The alleged payoffs to win Iraqi contracts
amounted to as much as $2.5 billion. The United Nations´ oil-for-food program
was its largest humanitarian aid operation and ran from 1996 to 2003 when it
ended. It was designed to allow the former Iraqi government to sell limited
amounts of oil in exchange for humanitarian goods as an exemption from sanctions
put in place in 1991 after Saddam invaded
Police Chief Busted on Corruption Charges. It was reported that U.S. military forces arrested the police chief of the troubled western Iraqi province of Al Anbar on corruption charges. Al Anbar Police Chief Jaadan Mohammed Alwan in Ramadi had long been suspected of corruption and involvement in criminal activities. He is suspected of accepting bribes to overlook crimes, extorting money from police officers, and embezzling funds meant for the police service of Al Anbar. Alwan was also wanted for questioning in connection with kidnappings and murders. (Fox News, August 25, 2004, summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Polygraph Testing Starts at Pentagon in Chalabi Inquiry. It was
reported that federal investigators have begun administering polygraph
examinations to civilian employees at the Pentagon to determine who may have
disclosed highly classified intelligence to Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi who
authorities suspect turned the information over to Iran. American
intelligence officials have said that Chalabi informed Iran that the United
States had broken the secret codes used by Iranian intelligence to transmit
confidential messages to posts around the world. (The New York Times,
June 4, 2004 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Annan seeks Iraq fraud inquiry. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for an independent inquiry into allegations of fraud and corruption in its oil-for-food programme in Iraq. The programme is aimed to help Iraq cope with sanctions by allowing oil sales profits to be used for basic goods. (BBC News, March 20, 2004, summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Iraq’s Interim Gov’t to Combat CORRUPTION. According to coalition officials in Iraq, Iraq’s interim administration is establishing an office to combat corruption and abuse of power in a step toward ridding the country of one legacy of Saddam Hussein’s rule. The Iraqi Governing Council hopes to have the new office running by Jan. 31. They also hope the office will boost confidence among international investors and convince Iraqis that the days of favouritism and cronyism, so widespread during Saddam’s era, are over. (New York Times, January 20, 2004, summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Don't bribe Iraqis, anti-graft body urges oil firms. It was reported that an Anti-corruption
group of Transparency International has urged oil companies not to bribe their
way into winning contracts in Iraq, challenging them to state clearly what
they are paying to clinch deals. The issue of corruption in post-war
reconstruction is to feature at the International Anti-Corruption Conference,
which is taking place in Seoul this May. (Reuters 30 Apr 2003 summary by Sherldine
Tomlinson). Future of Iraq, Anti-Corruption
Working Group Meeting. The
first session of the Future of Iraq project-working group on Anti-Corruption
will convene in Washington, DC. The working group will discuss the
importance of open and transparent government procedures in public
contracting, public appointments, banking, and other institutions that must
earn and keep the public trust. The working group will also discuss both
public and private sectors to promote anti-corruption efforts. (US INFO, February 13, 2003 summary by
Sherldine Tomlinson). UN ANGRILY DENIES IRAQI CHARGES OF CORRUPTION Benon Sevan, coordinator for the United Nations humanitarian ‘oil-for-food’ program, stated the program was regularly audited and rejected allegations of corruption in the form of skimming and wasting funds. Riyadh Al Qaysi, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary in Baghdad, believes the $12 billion per year in oil sale revenues held in escrow accounts is in part used for commissions taken by U.N. officers, rather than payment for food, medicine, and other supplied required by ordinary Iraqis. Sevan stated officers receive similar pay and benefits, and considerably less than some other duty stations, however, Al Qaysi charged that the U.N. staffers signed for duty because of the money. (Gulf News (Reuters), July 13, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds).
The Index of Economic Freedom (by Driscoll-Holmes-Kirkpatrick) for 2001 places Iraq in the “Repressed” category with a rank of 153 (Ranks range from 1 for Hong Kong to 155 for North Korea, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 1, 2000). H. D. Vinod’s trimmed correlation analysis indicates that countries free from economic regulation are less corrupt. After allowing for some exceptions by 20% trimming, the correlation is near 0.9. |
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Design:
Theo den Brinker |
Copyright:
Hrishikesh D. Vinod 2000 |
Last
Updated: |
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