Press release, Tuesday, June 21, 2005 — “At the first congressional hearing on the Development Fund for Iraq, Rep. Waxman releases a report on the U.S. mismangement of Iraqi funds. The report details the billions in cash transferred from the Federal Reserve Bank to U.S. officials in Iraq, the lack of financial controls in Iraq, and the evidence of substantial waste, fraud, and abuse in the spending of these funds.”
Rebuilding Iraq: U.S. Mismanagement of Iraqi Funds (25 pages, PDF): “EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – Between March 19, 2003, when U.S. forces invaded Iraq, and June 28, 2004, when the U.S.-run Coalition Provisional Authority turned power over to the interim Iraqi government, U.S. officials disbursed or obligated over $19.6 billion in Iraqi funds. The vast majority of these funds were withdrawn from the Development Fund for Iraq, the successor to the U.N. Oil for Food Program, while others came from frozen and seized Iraqi assets. Yet despite the magnitude of the sums involved, there has been little scrutiny of how U.S. officials managed the Iraqi assets entrusted to their care. At the request of Rep. Henry Waxman, this report examines U.S. management of these Iraqi funds. It is based on a review of over 14,000 pages of financial records and other documents from the Federal Reserve; over 15,000 pages of documents from the Department of Defense; audit reports from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the Government Accountability Office, and other auditors; and interviews with auditors, federal officials involved in the management or disbursement of the Iraqi funds, and Iraqi officials.”
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