(Telegraph-UK) American troops and Iraqi police Thursday raided the home and offices of Ahmad Chalabi, once Washington's favorite son, who accused the U.S. of trying to sideline him and cover up a UN bribery scandal. Chalabi's allies claimed a key motive was to stop him revealing more details of the scandal over the UN's oil-for-food program. Growing evidence has emerged that Saddam Hussein used lucrative contracts to bribe politicians around the world. Those alleged to have received oil contracts in documents laid before the U.S. Congress included Benon Sevan, the UN's head of the oil-for-food program. Chalabi's friends claimed that Washington was trying to shield the UN from further scandal because it desperately needed the world body's help to devise an "exit strategy" from Iraq.
2004-05-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive