Billions in US Funds Missing in Iraq

(NEWSER) - The kidnapping of five British men in Baghdad two years ago appears to have been masterminded by Iraqi officials instead of insurgents, a Guardian investigation finds. Technology specialist Peter Moore and his bodyguards were seized from Iraq's Finance Ministry by 40 men in police uniforms. Interviews with Iraqi and British sources reveal that the kidnappers had inside help, and that the motivation was almost certainly the work Moore was doing to prevent corruption. More»

(NEWSER) - Filthy, bug-infested Iraqi hospitals still lack basic equipment and supplies that could save thousands of lives, McClatchy reports. With sectarian violence down, doctors and aid groups are blaming government corruption for the nation's health woes. "The government has money," said a fourth-year resident at a Baghdad hospital. "So you tell me why I can't get basic medicines at the best ER in Baghdad." More»

(NEWSER) - A former CIA official who steered contracts toward a friend in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison, the Washington Post reports. Kyle Foggo was, at the time, the CIA’s executive director, the agency’s third-highest position. In exchange for lavish dinners and vacations, Foggo arranged lucrative contracts, including one in which the agency overpaid by 60% for water overseas. More»

Up to 17 officials dismissed as cost of fraud hits $13B

(NEWSER) - After the invasion of Iraq, the American transitional administration installed dozens of anticorruption officials to bring order to the nation's bureaucracy. But in recent months the Iraqi government has systematically fired these inspectors without making any public announcement, reports the New York Times. Only recently a senior Iraqi official testified before Congress that $13 billion in American investment has been lost in Iraq to fraud, embezzlement, and waste. More»

Illegal schemes funnel key money to insurgents

(NEWSER) - Iraq's mafia-style rackets are funneling big money to insurgents, making them key targets for US commanders. Corruption and kickbacks in real estate, soft drinks, cement—even the extortion of US contractors—are fueling what Maliki calls a “second war” in Iraq. "We have got to attack the insurgency from what source it comes from,” says a US general. “Part of that is the financing." More»