Iraq War misappropriation refers to allegations that billions of dollars of US government funds, originally meant for reconstruction and rebuilding programs, were misappropriated during the Iraq War.
Official investigations
In July 2008, the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
investigated around 900 cases of alleged fraud committed by contractors.
[Barbara Ferguson:]
Private contractors steal billions from Uncle Sam
. ArabNews
''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats.
At least as of ...
, 30 July 2008 Similarly, the
Defense Contract Audit Agency
The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense under the direction of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). It was established in 1965 to perform all contract audits for the Department of ...
uncovered $10 billion in questionable Iraq contracts,
and a US audit found that the occupation authority had lost track of reconstruction funds totalling nearly $9 billion.
Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
His district included much of the western part of the city of ...
, then Chairman of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives.
The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...
, said, "The money that's gone into waste, fraud and abuse under these contracts is just so outrageous, it's egregious. It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history."
["BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions"](_blank)
Jane Corbin
Jane Phillipa Corbin, Lady Maples (born 16 July 1954) is a British journalist and film-maker who has made over a hundred documentaries mainly for the BBC and its current affairs programme ''Panorama''. She specialises in covering Central Asia, t ...
, BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...
, 10 June 2008
Media investigations
$12 billion in U.S. currency was transported from the
Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
to Baghdad in April 2003 and June 2004, where it was dispensed by the
Coalition Provisional Authority
)
, capital = Baghdad
, largest_city = capital
, common_languages = Arabic Kurdish English (''de facto'')
, government_type = Transitional government
, legislature = Iraqi Governing Council
, title_leader = Administrator
, leader1 = Ja ...
. A
Vanity Fair magazine
''Vanity Fair'' is a monthly magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States.
The first version of ''Vanity Fair'' was published from 1913 to 1936. The imprint was revived in 1983 and cu ...
report concluded that of this sum, "at least $9 billion has gone missing".
''
Dispatches: Iraq's Missing Billions'', produced by
Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
Films (March 20, 2006).
A blog on
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
alleged that there "immunized foreign contractors" were involved. US courts issued
gag order
A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed onto any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...
s that prevent the prosecution or defense from discussing the allegations. The orders apply to 70 court cases against some top US contractors.
Missing UN funds
At the start of the Iraq war, the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
awarded $23 billion of Iraqi money to the US-led coalition to re-develop Iraq.
["'Iraq was awash in cash. We played football with bricks of $100 bills'"](_blank)
Callum Macrae and Ali Fadhil, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'', 20 March 2006
See also
*
White House Iraq-War forgery allegations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iraq War Misappropriations
Financial scandals
George W. Bush administration controversies
Occupation of Iraq
Allegations