Saddam oil-food gains doubled

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The Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein skimmed $21.3 billion from the United Nations oil-for-food program, nearly twice the amount of previous U.S. estimates, according to a Senate investigation.

"The magnitude of fraud perpetrated by Saddam Hussein in contravention of U.N. sanctions and the oil-for-food program is staggering," said Sen. Norm Coleman, Minnesota Republican and chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs permanent subcommittee on investigations.

Mr. Coleman disclosed the new figure of $21.3 billion over 11 years obtained from the U.N. humanitarian program at a subcommittee hearing yesterday. He said the conclusion was based on documents and on interviews conducted by the subcommittee's Republican staff.

The subcommittee investigators found that Saddam used the cash to pay off foreign politicians, businessmen, journalists and possibly even terrorist organizations through an elaborate scheme that allowed friends of the Iraqi dictator to sell oil at inflated prices and pocket large commissions.

Mr. Coleman said the question still being investigated by the panel is "how high up does the corruption go" within the United Nations.

"The extent to which U.N. officials personally benefited from Saddam's influence peddling has not been fully explored," Mr. Coleman said. "We need substantially greater cooperation from the United Nations to answer these and other questions."

The world body so far has refused requests from the subcommittee to provide witnesses and detailed information on U.N. audits that could shed light on the corruption.

The CIA-led Iraqi Survey Group, in a report made public last month, said Saddam obtained $10.9 billion from the program and used some of that revenue to buy weapons.

The subcommittee probe found that most of the $21.3 billion was obtained through $13.6 billion in oil smuggling, $241 million in surcharges on oil purchases; $4.4 billion from kickbacks on purchases of humanitarian goods, and $2.21 billion from skimming profits on purchases of substandard humanitarian goods that were bought abroad at inflated prices.

Mr. Coleman said Saddam's use of oil vouchers -- permits that allowed people and companies to buy Iraqi oil -- rescued his regime from collapse.