Emerging as Saddam Hussein’s latest violation of UN sanctions yet, a system of kickback payments on oil deals has recently been "exposed" by a disgruntled Russian middleman in Newsweek magazine. The deals have been struck under the framework of the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food program.
The Iraqi President reportedly managed to systematically circumvent the UN sanctions regime by selling Iraqi oil to Middle East and European businessmen who were willing to pay him large kickbacks for sending UN supervised oil contracts their way, the U.S. report maintained. Saddam’s shady business is estimated to have yielded three billion dollars in profits a year. According to foreign resources, the Iraqi ruler has been banking these revenues to his personal cash treasury and using them to finance military purchases.
The magazine brings the story of Gazi Luguev, a Russian middleman, who has recently pulled the whistle on his dubious dealings with Uday Hussein, Saddam's eldest son, after the latter failed to deliver the promised oil shipments. Having already wired $60,000 to a secret bank account in Jordan as a kickback deposit on the oil contract, the aggravated middleman Luguev went ahead and filed an official complaint with the UN.
The oil-for-food program, initiated in late 1996, consists of an arrangement whereby Iraq is allowed to sell oil on condition that revenues are paid to a UN escrow account and released to purchase food and humanitarian goods. During the program’s six years in operation, the UN has supervised the sale of $57 billion worth of Iraqi oil at below market prices to approved buyers.
Iraq, which sits atop the world's second largest oil reserves estimated at 112 billion barrels, has been allowed by the sanctions committee to pick which companies it would sell its oil to. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
