Russia Calls Evidence in Oil-for-Food Report Forged

[Chicago Democrat]

Russia Calls Evidence in Oil-for-Food Report Forged


By ANDREW KRAMER
Published: October 28, 2005
MOSCOW, Oct. 28 - Russian officials responded today to a report accusing companies and politicians here of paying hefty kickbacks in the United Nations oil-for-food program for Iraq by saying the documents cited as evidence are actually forgeries.

An independent committee, led by Paul A. Volcker, the former chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, released the 623-page report on Thursday after an investigation that cost $33 million. The report included a detailed chapter on Russian oil companies and their dealings with the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein.

Following its release, the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, said that countries should use the report's conclusions to prosecute companies under their jurisdictions. Russia, along with France, had won preferential treatment under the oil-for-food program. It handled a third of all oil contracts from Mr. Hussein's government, first because Moscow supported Iraq politically and later, as Iraq became more desperate for money, because Russian oil companies began paying big kickbacks, the report said.

Oil industry analysts here have shrugged off the findings, noting that they probably will not lead to prosecutions in Russia, a country with enough money laundering and kickback scandals of its own.

The Russian minister of foreign affairs, Sergey V. Lavrov, remarked today he had not read the report, but said that at least some of the documents used to support the report's conclusions are counterfeits.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/28/international/europe/28cnd-food.html

[Chicago Democrat]

1. The charges against Galloway are fake as well!

And ALL A CRUDE SMOKESCREEN!

[salib]

2. Isn't it convenient that the U.S. Companies are mostly not involved

[Chicago Democrat]

7. shocking! well them fureigners are to blame

yu know, them and the gays

[stepnw1f]

3. Exactly What I Already Thought

I do believe there is a massive conspiracy going on... and these neo-cons are in on it. We'll just have to wait.

[bemildred]

4. Don't be ridiculous. Who would use forged documents? nt

[Chicago Democrat]

6. Not the neo-cons, not in the middle of a crisis in the White House!

never!

[tanyev]

5. Maybe they were REALLY busy at that meeting in Italy.

[occuserpens]

8. Miserable Oil--for-Food flop

UN oil-for-food scandal is huge and old. Now comes Volcker's report and it is clear that Russian FM has nothing to say about it.
They say that they need time to study and this is 100% true, the report is large and it certainly needs careful consideration. The problem is, main bulk of OFF analysis had to be ready quite some time ago! With proper media monitoring, things like this is easily visible and can be treated properly. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and Russian officials are apparently in the dark.

This is not the way this business is done! One good guess why this happened is ideological blindness. OFF scandal was initiated by neocons (William Safire is just one example) from purely ideological considerations, so without understanding how they think, all these events simply make no sense.

F.Rumyantsev, I.Zhegulev, A.Levchenko. "These are all fakes". Russia is not ready for Oil-for-Food scandal: http://gazeta.ru/2005/10/28/oa_175898.shtml

[Nostradamus]

9. Which part of the Bush administration ISN'T fake ??

[occuserpens]

10. They are all professional counterfeiters

[strizi64]

11. no surprise here, forged doc's are "standard" today n/t