By Xinhua,
Baghdad : The Iraqi government said Sunday that it would file lawsuits in U.S. courts against companies and individuals who benefited illegally from the UN oil-for-food program.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement posted on the government website that “the Iraqi government has decided to file lawsuits in U.S. courts against a group of companies and individuals that conspired to corrupt the United Nations oil-for-food program.”
He said that his government was taking this step to recover the damages to its people and make those who benefited illegitimately from the program “accountable for their actions.”
However, the statement did not name any company or individual against whom the legal procedures were planned.
The oil-for-food program was first established by the UN in 1995, under UN Security Council Resolution 986, and terminated in late 2003.
The program was intended to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to rebuild its military.
Saddam Hussein’s regime allegedly embezzled millions of dollars from the scheme as a result of mismanagement of the program.