U.N. BIG LOST SWEET OIL DEAL
By NILES LATHEM
New York Post
Oct 13 2004
October 13, 2004 — WASHINGTON — An angry Saddam Hussein stopped
giving the head of the U.N. oil-for-food program sweetheart oil deals
after fuming that the honcho was not doing enough to earn his money,
according to new information uncovered by investigators. The Post has
learned that former Iraqi government officials have told congressional
investigators that oil-for-food chief Benon Sevan was ordered to be
removed from Saddam’s special oil voucher list in June 2001 after
five years of secret dealings.
The ex-regime officials have told investigators from the House
International Relations Committee that government higher-ups believed
Sevan, the Armenian Cypriot who administered the $64 billion program,
wasn’t “doing enough” to help Saddam in his relentless quest to end
global sanctions, according to a congressional investigator.
“We were told the Iraqis were expecting certain things [from Sevan]
and they didn’t get what they wanted. From their perspective, they
were getting screwed,” the investigator said.
Saddam’s government had another reason to remove Sevan from its
oil-for-food gravy train.
CIA weapons inspector Charles Duelfer said in a report last week that,
at about the same time Sevan was cut off, an Egyptian middleman for
one of the companies linked to Sevan’s Iraq oil deals was informed
by Oil Ministry officials that Sevan’s company was behind in its
payments to Saddam’s kickback program.