Oil for Food Indictments

April 14, 2005 --

FBI Announces Indictments in Oil for Food Scandal

The Justice Department and FBI today announced the indictment of Texas oil tycoon David Chalmers and a South Korean who investigators tell ABC News is the key to learning more about how former U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and other U.N. officials may have illegally manipulated the Oil for Food Program.The South Korean, Tongsun Park, is alleged to have received Iraqi money from the only other American so far indicted in the Oil for Food program — Samir Vincent — with the intention of paying off U.N. officials to better the program. The U.N. officials remain unnamed. Park was the focus of a federal investigation for months, ABC News has learned, though he is not presently in custody. Today, U.S. Attorney David Kelley said he believed Park was in his native South Korea. Investigators tells ABC News they do not know where Park is, and that to catch him he would have to return to the U.S. or be extradited by the country in which he currently lives. David Chalmers ran Bayoil, one of the largest oil companies of its kind in the world. He is seen as one of, if not the most, significant oil trader in the Oil for Food scandal. He is alleged to have paid "millions" in illegal kickbacks to the Saddam Hussein regime and to have tried to artificially decrease oil prices in order to increase his profits. (ABCNEWS)

U.S. Prosecutor: 3 Indicted In U.N. Oil-For-Food Scandal
A Texas businessman, along with a Bulgarian and a British citizen, have been indicted for an alleged scheme to pay millions of dollars in secret kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regimein Iraq as part of the United Nations' oil-for-food program, federal prosecutors said Thursday. (AP)

Just One of 9 Suspects Convicted in 2003 British Poison Plot Case
The man who was convicted was sentenced to 17 years in prison, but he had already been jailed for life for killing a police officer. (NY Times)

Rudolph Admits Bombing '96 Olympic Park, Clinics

The defiant ex-fugitive cites hatred of abortion, government sanctions. A U.S. plea agreement lets 'cold, callous' killer avoid death penalty. (LA Times)

Guantánamo Detainee's Suit Says Prison Guards Beat Him
A lawsuit filed in federal court on Wednesday says guards at the Guantánamo Bay detention center beat a detainee frequently, leaving him with visible scars and partial facial paralysis. (NY Times)

U.S. Designates Al Zarqawi Financer For Providing Support
The US Department of the Treasury today designated Bilal Mansur Al-Hiyari, a Jordanian, for "providing financial support" to the Zarqawi Network, an al Qaida-affiliated terrorist group active in Iraq. (Press Trust of India)

German Police Launch Terror Raids

German police have launched a series of raids across the country as part of investigations into Islamist terror networks, officials say. (BBC)

Scotland Yard Secretly Recorded Abu Hamza's Sermons

Sermons given by radical London-based cleric Abu Hamza al Masri were secretly recorded by Scotland Yard, sources close to the defense team told Asharq Al Awsat. In the 60 tapes, which were recorded between 1999 and 2004, Abu Hamza is heard calling for the killing of Jews. Abu Hamza is currently facing terrorism-related charges in the U.K. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Travellers Squeezed By Air Security

A new US rule banning airline passengers carrying cigarette lighters in their hand-luggage has revived a debate over tighter travel security. (BBC)

GMU Faculty Decries Patriot Act
Resolution warns of threat to academic freedom. (Washington Post)

Karzai Hints at Permanent U.S. Military Basing

During a Rumsfeld visit, the Afghan president says the people want long-term ties with America. But some are critical of strategy. (LA Times)

Twin Car Bombings Kill 18 in Baghdad
Two Car Bombs Explode Near Government Offices in Baghdad Killing 18 People and Wounding Three Dozen. (AP)

Iraq's Qaeda Claims Twin Bomb Attacks In Baghdad
Iraq's al Qaeda wing claimed responsibility for twin suicide car bombs that killed at least 15 people near an Interior Ministry building in Baghdad on Thursday, according to a statement posted on the Internet. (Reuters)

In pictures: Explosions Rock Iraq (BBC)

Foreigners Still Held Hostage in Iraq
Foreigners Still Held Hostage or Missing in Iraq. (AP)

Faltering Hearts And Minds In Falluja
Vast sums of money are still pouring into Iraq for reconstruction including $100m for the rebuilding of Falluja, the city that became something of a symbol of the battle with Iraq's insurgents. (BBC)

Pentagon's War Spending Hard to Track — Watchdog
The Defense Department is unable to track how it spent tens of millions of dollars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the U.S. war on terrorism, Congress's top investigator said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Iraqi Shiite Party Poised For Power But Haunted By Its Past
A top candidate for Iraq's interior minister, one of the most powerful posts in the new government, is the leader of a once-feared Shiite militia accused of torture by former prisoners of war. (AFP)

Israel, Iran, And Nuclear Weapons Programs
As Sharon renews warnings about Iran, the U.S. may be ready to turn up the heat on Israel's nukes. (CS Monitor)

Exaggerated Threats
The acquittal of four suspects this week — and the dropping of charges against another four — in the 'ricin' terrorist plot raises wider issues than just the effectiveness of our current terrorist investigating processes. (The Guardian)

When Good News Is No News
When it comes to reporting on the Iraq war, the Old Media might as well be an appendage of the antiwar wing of the Democratic Party. It is astonishing how little coverage we have seen of the positive trend there over the last few months. (Washington Times)

Old Iraqi Nemeses, Deadly Demands
The new interim government in Iraq inherits old enemies in the form of the insurgency and  demands that the US pull out its troops. Together, these promise to sap the administration's energy, but could also threaten its very existence. If it's to survive at all, the government must swiftly demonstrate its independence from Washington. (Asia Times)

I Have Got Paid!On April 8 and 9, 2005, I wrote two articles on the oil-for-food "scandal" in Iraq and I said that it is nothing compared to the corruption scandals in Iraq under the U.S. occupation. (Al Hayat)

What Do We Do About Darfur?
The answer is clear, but we don't have the will. (LA Times)

No Law Is Above Rights
The U.S. Congress is reviewing the Patriot Act, the contentious law that was passed in a tearing hurry in the aftermath of September 11 strikes. Human rights groups and many US lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, see the Patriot Act as too rigid, too invasive and violating fundamental rights of the Americans. Even Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales, a hardliner to the core, has conceded that the Patriot Act does "need some adjustments". (Khaleej Times)