By NNN-KUNA,
Baghdad : The Iraqi government intends to file lawsuits in US courts against companies and individuals who benefited illegally from the UN oil-for-food programme.
Government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh said in a statement posted on the government website Sunday that “the Iraqi government has decided to file lawsuits in US courts against a group of companies and individuals that conspired to corrupt the United Nations oil-for-food programme.”
He said that his government was taking this step to recover the loss to its people and make those who benefited illegitimately from the programme “accountable for their actions.”
The oil-for-food programme was first established by the UN in 1995, under UN Security Council Resolution 986, and terminated in late 2003.
The programme 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 programme.