Stuart Bowen jr. was the special inspector general for the reconstruction of Iraq. Between $12 billion to $14 billion in shrink-wrapped $100 bills were flown from the US into Iraq over a period of 6 years after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Part of them may have been stolen. Bowen told the Los Angeles Times that it could be the largest theft of funds in national history. The cash belonged to Iraq and came from a special fund set up by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The money from oil-sales was previously withheld from Iraq under harsh economic sanctions imposed against Saddam Husseins regime. It was intended to finance the countrys reconstruction. Bowen later discovered that between $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion had been stolen and moved to a bunker in rural Lebanon for safe keeping. The Iraqi government under former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki wasnt keen to pursue the matter. Nor were George W. Bush as well as Obama, who didnt care, “because it was Iraqi money stolen by Iraqis.” Apart from the cash, gold worth $200 million was also said to be hoarded in the bunker. These assets were either ill-gotten gains of the corrupt Shia officials, close to Maliki, or they were for Lebanons Shia militia, the Hezbollah.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 12:52:19 +0000