US audit finds 'spectacular' waste of funds in Iraq | csmonitor.com
Auditors believed Halliburton overcharged $218 million on a contract to import fuel and repair oil fields, for which the US company was paid $1.6 billion in Iraqi oil proceeds.
Billions wasted in Iraq, says US audit
A US congressional inspection team set up to monitor reconstruction in Iraq today publishes a scathing report of failures by contractors, mainly from the US, to carry out projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In one case, the inspection team found that three years after the invasion only six of 150 health centres proposed for Iraq had been completed.US firms suspected of bilking Iraq funds
WASHINGTON -- American contractors swindled hundreds of millions of dollars in Iraqi funds, but so far there is no way for Iraq's government to recoup the money, according to US investigators and civil attorneys tracking fraud claims against contractors.
In addition, an Iraqi law created by the Coalition Provisional Authority days before it ceded sovereignty to Iraq in June 2004 gives American contractors immunity from prosecution in Iraq.
''In effect, it makes Iraq into a 'free-fraud zone,' " said Alan Grayson, a Virginia attorney who is suing the private security firm Custer Battles in a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former employees. A federal jury last month found the Rhode Island-based company liable for $3 million in fraudulent billings in Iraq.
Even the United Nations panel set up to monitor the use of Iraq's seized assets has no power to prosecute wrongdoers.
America's billions fall short in Iraq
Mothballed projects leave U.S. wondering if money was wasted
By John Ward Anderson and Bassam Sebti
The Washington Post
"The United States must ensure that the billions of dollars it has already invested in Iraq's infrastructure are not wasted," said an October report by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, citing what it said were "limitations in the Iraqis' capacity to maintain and operate reconstructed facilities."
For example, the report said, "As of June 2005, approximately $52 million of the $200 million in completed large-scale water and sanitation projects either were not operating or were operating at lower capacity due to looting of key equipment and shortages of reliable power, trained Iraqi staff, and required chemicals and supplies."
The Karkh facilities--not included in the GAO report--also illustrate the security problems that plague reconstruction efforts and have forced U.S. officials to redirect as much as $3.5billion from building projects and into security to protect them, raising the cost of infrastructure improvements between 16 percent and 22 percent, officials say.
IRAQ: Wasit residents protest fuel shortages, allege official corruption
BAGHDAD, 8 May (IRIN) - Residents of Wasit province, some 160km south of Baghdad, have accused local officials of corruption and collaboration with black-market fuel dealers."Local officials are ordering fuel stations to close as early as 3:00 p.m. on the pretence that the security situation is bad," said Jassim Mohamed, 47, a taxi driver. "But in reality, they're encouraging these stations to sell fuel on the black market. Officials are making money by creating the crisis."
Ayoon Wa Azan (The World's Largest Embassy)
The US is building the world's largest embassy in Iraq. The project of building on half-a-million square meters is going to cost one billion dollars. It will consist of 21 buildings, water wells and an electric power station. The standard American embassy is 50,000 square meters in size. However, the embassy in Baghdad is nothing but a gas station. This is the sole reason behind the war in Iraq and threat to all of the countries in the region.
Some have become aware that Iraqi reconstruction funds have been wasted or stolen. Three years have passed and the occupation has still not regulated electricity supplies, whereas, the besieged Saddam regime had operated electricity within a few months after the liberation of Kuwait. The embassy, or, gas station, includes a swimming pool, a sporting club and a food caterer. I do not understand how the Americans can believe that the Iraqis will let them enjoy this embassy for very long  Inspectors found much of the waste rotting and abandoned |
The UN Environment Program has trained Iraqi specialists in detoxification, but says any clean-up could cost up to $40m (£23m).
Chemical spills, unsecured hazardous material and pollution by depleted uranium are among the issues.
Also See: Halliburton's Depleted Uranium Cover Up
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