$4bn Iraq cash has vanished, claims charity

[Nottingham]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=574a987a1dd4f4f5

$4bn Iraq cash has vanished, claims charity

GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT


REPRESENTATIVES from more than 70 countries were gathering in Madrid today to discuss funding of post-war Iraq amid accusations that the coalition authority in the country has failed to account for billions of dollars of oil and aid revenues.

A Christian charity claimed yesterday that failure of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to set up an independent auditing board to oversee spending had left a question mark over what had happened to up to $4 billion (£2.4 billion) that should have been spent on rebuilding the country.

The accusations were dismissed as groundless by the Foreign Office, which said all money raised by oil sales had been accounted for in the CPA’s published budgets.

The CPA also launched a spirited defence of its handling of Iraq’s finances, insisting that all money raised from oil sales and other revenue sources had been spent on reconstruction work.
more...

I wonder who could have pocketed 4 Billion dollars :tinfoilhat:

[Old and In the Way]

1. CPA probably had plenty of Pentagon accountants.

They can't account for a $1 Trillion of their budget....

just amazing, isn't it? A real growth industry, I think.

[Nottingham]

3. I bet the Accountants are from Enron and Arthur Anderson

They call it Creative Bookeeping :tinfoilhat:

[DUreader]

5. Pentagon is missing $3 trillion + , I recall

[Wwagsthedog]

2. I think anyone here could come up with some good ideas where .......

.......the money went. Names like Bremmer, Chalabi and Sanchez come quickly to mind. Surely there would be many more.

[Merlin]

4. This could and should be a very big story.

Let's hope the broader media picks it up.

[tom_paine]

11. Vain hope.

Just calling it like I see it.

[leesa]

6. I would check Cheney's wallet.

[kentuck]

8. That would be the logical place to look...

:shrug:

[htuttle]

7. Chalabi, currently heading the 'Governing Council', is a convicted felon

...For bank fraud, no less (22 counts in Jordan). But all of us here in DU knew that already.

It shouldn't be any mystery where the money went. Someone stole it.

Stop! Thief!

[Don_G]

9. It Will Be Interesting

To see how Dimbo can raise financial aid for Iraq from other countries and within the US with Billions missing and no accountability from the "moral" majority.

[Barrett808]

10. Here's the Christian Aid press release

Iraq: the missing billions /23.10.03
A staggering US$4 billion in oil revenues and other Iraqi funds earmarked for the reconstruction of the country has disappeared into opaque bank accounts administered by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), the US-controlled body that rules Iraq. By the end of the year, if nothing changes in the way this cash is accounted for, that figure will double.

The financial black hole, uncovered by a Christian Aid investigation, is revealed as delegates gather for the donors' conference in Madrid. Before pledging money from their own countries' coffers to boost the reconstruction efforts, as requested by the US and UK governments, these delegates should first demand: 'What has happened to the missing billions?'

It is expected that a separate fund, managed by the UN and the World Bank, will be announced at the conference for donors' money, to allay fears of how this cash will be spent. But this should not stop donors from pushing for accountability of the original, massive reconstruction fund - most of it Iraqi oil money.

In particular the British government, which has promised financial transparency in dealings with Iraqi oil funds, should use its influence to ensure that the missing money is accounted for. Christian Aid is calling on Prime Minister Tony Blair to deliver on his promises.

The fact that no independent body knows where this cash has gone is in direct violation of the UN resolution that released much of it for the rebuilding of Iraq's shattered infrastructure. The agency that is supposed to oversee these funds has not even been set up yet.

(more)

http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/news/media/pressrel/031023p.htm

[Dover]

12. Christian Aid accuses CPA (another article)

Billions of Iraq funds vanished into US accounts


Christian Aid accuses CPA of creaming off four billion dollars from Iraq's pre- and post-war oil revenues for benefit of US companies.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=7513


LONDON - Four billion dollars in Iraqi oil revenue and other funds earmarked for the reconstruction of the country have "disappeared into opaque bank accounts" administered by the US Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), British-based charity Christian Aid said on Thursday.

"The missing billions are a combination of pre- and post-war oil revenues now controlled by the CPA, plus seized Iraqi government assets and funds vested overseas," Christian Aid said in a statement.

"Conservative estimates put the total at five billion US dollars, of which less than one billion dollars can be accounted for."

cont'd

[demdave]

13. Also in the article.......

The charity later admitted it had no evidence that the money had been misspent and a spokesman said it had based some of its figures on estimates. The spokesman also said the charity had been unable to speak to CPA members to clarify the financial situation.


"Hey Rocky, watch me pull the numbers out of my @ss"

[Nottingham]

14. GREAT ARTICLES Guys! Its called Creative Bookeeping

and US is known for that!!! Is Ken Lay's name anywhere in there???

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

15. Bush Announces $4 Billion in Campaign contributions from Iraqi Citizens.

[aeon flux]

16. How ironic

The Bush gang are only there to loot (and shoot) the Iraqi people, not help them. They almost make Saddam look like a Saint.

[mpsteve]

17. Hopeless

I feel like I'm being ripped off!!!