US lost track of $9b meant for Iraq's reconstruction
AFP, Washington
The former US-led Coalition Provisional Authority headed by American Paul Bremer lost track of nearly nine billion dollars it transferred to Iraqi government ministries in a black hole of fraud, kickbacks and fund misappropriation, according to Time magazine. In a report to hit US newsstands Monday, Time reports that the CPA left "large portions of the 8.8 billion Iraqi treasury open to fraud, kickbacks and misappropriation of funds," citing a US inspector general's audit. The report was written by the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction Stuart Bowen, a high-powered lawyer from Texas, it said. Time said Bowen's audit cites Bremer's oversight of the CPA with lax accounting and inadequate disclosure. The report says that on one payroll, for example, only 602 of the 8,206 names could be confirmed, with no paper trail existing for the rest of the cash.
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