|
"The OIL is God's Gift
to the Arab people;
it does not belong
to the West."
|
US accused of stealing billions of Iraqi oil revenues |
 |
| Some four billion
dollars set aside for the reconstruction of Iraq have disappeared into American bank accounts administered by the occupying
Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).
The missing billions, uncovered by UK humanitarian group Christian Aid, are
a combination of oil revenues now controlled by the CPA, plus seized Iraqi government assets and funds vested overseas.
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, said Christian Aid in a news release.
It is estimated
that by the end of the year, the amount of unaccounted cash will double if CPA financial management is not made more transparent.
This is Iraqi money. The people of Iraq must know where it is going and it should be used for the benefit of all the
country's people - particularly the poorest, said Christian Aid's international director, Roger Riddell.
According
to the CPA, the body does promote economic transparency by maintaining a Program Review Board to examine requests to spend
Iraqi funds and make recommendations on expenditures. The authority asserts that minutes from meetings, as well as the Iraqi
national budgets for the second half of 2003 and all of 2004 are posted on their website. (menareport.com |
 |
