October 9, 2004 THE SANCTIONS Report Cites U.S. Profits in Sale of Iraqi Oil Under Hussein By JUDITH MILLER and ERIC LIPTON Scott Shane contributed reporting for this article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/international/middleeast/09sanctions.html?th=&oref=login&pagewanted=print&position= WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 - Major American oil companies and a Texas oil investor were among those who received lucrative vouchers that enabled them to buy Iraqi oil under the United Nations oil-for-food program, according to a report prepared by the chief arms inspector for the Central Intelligence Agency. The 918-page report says that four American oil companies - Chevron, Mobil, Texaco and Bay Oil - and three individuals including Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. of Houston were given vouchers and got 111 million barrels of oil between them from 1996 to 2003. The vouchers allowed them to profit by selling the oil or the right to trade it. The other individuals, whose names appeared on a secret list maintained by the former Iraqi government, were Samir Vincent of Annandale, Va., and Shakir al-Khafaji of West Bloomfield, Mich., according to the report by the inspector, Charles A. Duelfer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The program was abused when Saddam Hussein intervened, personally selecting individuals and companies to receive oil allocations. The allocations, also called vouchers, could be sold so that the recipient approved by Mr. Hussein did not have to trade the oil but could simply profit from the transaction. Ultimately, Mr. Hussein began to demand kickbacks in return for these oil allocations, a requirement that some oil dealers were willing to honor given the large profit margins associated with oil trade.
The proceeds *MAY* have been used by Mr. Hussein to pay for purchases of arms in violation of sanctions, the report says. [Emphasis added // lcm]
"We want a full explanation of the involvement of all American oil companies and individuals who were involved in a thoroughly corrupt program," he said. Representative Henry J. Hyde, Republican of Illinois, chairman of the International Relations Committee that is also investigating the seven-year oil-for-food program, said in a statement that the Iraq Survey Group's report showed the "full breadth of Saddam Hussein's corruption and manipulation of the U.N. Oil for Food program." [ ... ] http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/international/middleeast/09sanctions.html?th=&oref=login&pagewanted=print&position= ========================================