(More Than 50) New Fraud Cases Point to Lapses in Iraq Projects

[kpete]

Source: New York Times

New Fraud Cases Point to Lapses in Iraq Projects
By JAMES GLANZ
Published: March 13, 2010

Investigators looking into corruption involving reconstruction in Iraq say they have opened more than 50 new cases in six months by scrutinizing large cash transactions — involving banks, land deals, loan payments, casinos and even plastic surgery — made by some of the Americans involved in the nearly $150 billion program.

Some of the cases involve people who are suspected of having mailed tens of thousands of dollars to themselves from Iraq, or of having stuffed the money into duffel bags and suitcases when leaving the country, the federal investigators said. In other cases, millions of dollars were moved through wire transfers. Suspects then used cash to buy BMWs, Humvees and expensive jewelry, or to pay off enormous casino debts.

Some suspects also tried to conceal foreign bank accounts in Ghana, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Britain, the investigators said, while in other cases, cash was simply found stacked in home safes.

There have already been dozens of indictments and convictions for corruption since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But the new cases seem to confirm what investigators have long speculated: that the chaos, weak oversight and wide use of cash payments in the reconstruction program in Iraq allowed many more Americans who took bribes or stole money to get off scot-free.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/world/middleeast/14reconstruct.html?th&emc=th

[Botany]

1. Fun fact who helped to oversee the reconstruction of Iraq?

Liz Cheney


From Wiki
The appointment followed publicized policy divisions between the Vice President's office and the State Department on Middle East policy. In that position,
she was given control of the Middle East Partnership Initiative, designed to "foster increased democracy and economic progress in a troubled region." The
program spent $29 million in 2002, increased to $129 million in the following year. Cheney's task was to channel money to pre-screened groups, some of
which were not identified publicly for fear of retaliations from extant governments they sought to undermine. For the budget year 2004, the project sought
$145 million.

[SpiralHawk]

3. "Sneer." - xVP Dickie 'Five-Military-Deferments' Cheney (R-War Profiteer)

[Botany]

5. Cheney started the war to make money

[saigon68]

7. Thug War Criminal

[shraby]

2. I read this earlier and am wondering where the media

has been in covering the convictions of the vast rip-off. I haven't heard a peep about who was on trial, who is indicted, who was convicted. Those names and amounts should be made public and covered extensively.

[SpiralHawk]

4. "Move along. Nothing to see here. - Bent-knee Corporate Media (R)

eom

[Botany]

6. My tin foil hat theory is that billions of dollars are now in some sort of ...

.... right wing slush fund. They really have money to burn.

[patrice]

8. Don't know why we'd need tin-foil hats to think PNAC ain't dead & would invest in its own future.

[tanyev]

9. How to Wage War for Fun and Profit.

The real GOP Bible.

[Overseas]

10. K&R for the spotlight on Republican war profiteering. //nt