CBS: Corrupt Arms Deals Cost Iraq $800 Million
    The Associated Press

    Sunday 22 October 2006

    New York - Iraq's former finance minister alleged in a US television report aired Sunday that up to $800 million meant to equip the Iraqi army had been stolen from the government by former officials through fraudulent arms deals.

    The former minister Ali Allawi told CBS' "60 Minutes" that the arms fraud is "one of the biggest thefts in history" and that corrupt former Iraqi officials are now "running around the world hiding and scurrying around."

    He did not name the officials who allegedly stole the money. But Iraqi investigators are probing several weapons and equipment deals engineered by former procurement officer Ziad Cattan and other defense officials.

    Tapes obtained by "60 Minutes" from a former associate of Cattan allegedly captured Cattan talking about paying large bribes to Iraqi officials.

    Cattan, wanted by Iraqi authorities and now living in Paris, was interviewed in the same "60 Minutes" broadcast and said he can account for some $1.2 billion he used to purchase weapons.

    "I have documentation. I give it to you in your hands," Cattan said.

    He said the tapes, excerpts of which were played on the broadcast, had been doctored and were not authentic.

    Experts at Jane's, a leading authority on military hardware, told "60 Minutes" that the documentation Cattan provided did not prove whether any of the weapons he ordered - paid for in advance - had been delivered to Iraq.

    Most of the fraudulent arms purchases were allegedly made during the term of former interim Prime Minster Ayad Allawi, who took office after occupation authorities turned over sovereignty to Iraqis on June 28, 2004. When new Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi took office in May 2005, an investigation was opened into several alleged cases of corruption.

    Iraqi government officials could not be immediately contacted by The Associated Press.

    But Sheik Sabah al-Saadi, chairman of the Iraqi Parliament's Integrity Commission, told the AP said he had written to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Sunday, asking it to contact Interpol to detain all those involved in the defense corruption case, including former Defense Minister Hazim Shaalan.

    He said he had documents that show the theft of $2.2 billion dollars from the time of Saddam Hussein's ouster in 2003 until now.