Blackwater OK'd $1M Bribe Fund After '07 Iraq Shooting

Money was destined for officials critical after 17 killed
By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 10, 2009 9:39 PM CST
Blackwater OK'd $1M Bribe Fund After '07 Iraq Shooting
In this Sept. 20, 2007 file photo, an Iraqi traffic policeman inspects a car destroyed by a Blackwater security detail in al-Nisoor Square in Baghdad, Iraq.   (AP Photo)

Security firm Blackwater set aside $1 million for secret payments to critical Iraqi officials after the 2007 Baghdad shootout that left 17 civilians dead. With Blackwater fearing it could lose its lucrative operating license in the country, former executives tell the New York Times, then-president Gary Jackson authorized the bribe money’s transfer to Jordan. The execs say they didn’t know if the money got to Iraq, or for whom it was intended.
(More Blackwater stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X