Malik accused of involvement in UN’s Oil for Food scam

LAHORE: The UAE-based Messrs Petroline FZC, an offshore company owned by Pakistan’s former premier Benazir Bhutto, her nephew Hassan Ali Jaffrey and her close lieutenant Rehman Malik, was accused in October 2005 by former US Federal Reserve head, Paul Volcker, of having illegally traded $144 million of Iraqi oil, and making $2 million payments to Saddam Hussein's regime in the shadow of the United Nations-led $60 billion 1995 “ Oil for Food Programme,” which was finally terminated following growing complaints of corruption in 2003.

Rehman Malik completely refuted the charge saying it is a conspiracy of their rivals. Research shows Messrs Petroline FZC was one of the 2,000 plus companies that had breached United Nations sanctions by making illegal payments to Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq before 2003.

The October 29, 2007 edition of the “BBC News” states: “Ms Benazir Bhutto also faces allegations concerning the United Nations Oil-for-Food Scandal. In 2005, the Independent Inquiry Commission led by former US Federal Reserve head Paul Volcker found that more than 2,000 companies breached UN sanctions by making illegal payments to Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq before 2003.”

The prestigious British media house had maintained: “Among them was a company called Petroline FZC, based in the United Emirates. Mr Volcker's inquiry found it traded $144m of Iraqi oil, and made $2m of illegal payments to Saddam Hussein's regime. Documents from Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau appear to show that Ms Bhutto was Petroline FZC's chairwoman. If these documents are genuine, and the oil-for-food allegations are proven, this would be especially damaging for the former prime minister. The Spanish authorities are investigating financial transactions thought to be linked to Petroline FZC. In addition, President Musharraf's amnesty dropping corruption charges against public officials only covers the period 1986-1999.  The Petroline FZC transactions came after that, which means that in theory a charge is possible. Ms Bhutto has always denied all corruption allegations, and her supporters say the allegations against her are politically motivated. But her legal difficulties may not be over yet.”

The UN-led Paul Volcker Inquiry Committee: The $34 million United Nations-appointed Independent Inquiry Committee issued its fifth and final report on October 27, 2005, The 18-month investigation, chaired by Paul Volcker, has documented a huge amount of evidence regarding manipulation of the $60 billion Oil-for-Food Program by the Saddam Hussein regime with the complicity of more than 2,200 companies in 66 countries as well as a number of prominent international politicians.

More findings of Paul Volker Committee: Oil surcharges were paid in connection with the contracts of 139 companies and humanitarian kickbacks were paid in connection with the contracts of 2,253 companies.

Companies accused of paying kickbacks to the Iraqi regime include major global corporations such as Daimler-Chrysler AG, Siemens AG, and Volvo.

The Saddam Hussein regime received illicit income of $1.8 billion under the Oil-for-Food Program. $228.8 million was derived from the payment of surcharges in connection with oil contracts. $1.55 billion came through kickbacks on humanitarian goods.

The Oil-for-Food Programme: The Oil-for-Food Programme was established by the United Nations in 1995 (under UN Security Council Resolution 986) to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to boost its military capabilities.

The Programme was introduced by United States President Bill Clinton's administration in 1995, as a response to arguments that ordinary Iraqi citizens were inordinately affected by the international economic sanctions aimed at the demilitarization of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, imposed in the wake of the first Gulf War.

Shortly before United States and British forces invaded Iraq, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had suspended the Programme and evacuated more than 300 workers monitoring the distribution of supplies.

On March 28, 2003, Secretary-General Annan, the United States and Britain asked the Security Council to ensure that nearly US $10 billion in goods Iraq had ordered and that were already approved—including US $2.4 billion for food—could enter the country once conditions allowed.

Important statistics: Over US $53 billion worth of Iraqi oil was sold on the world market. About US $46 billion of this was intended to provide for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people such as food and medicine, given the context of international economic sanctions. 

This initiative had also suffered from widespread corruption and abuse.

Throughout its existence, the programme was dogged by accusations that some of its profits were unlawfully diverted to the government of Iraq and to UN officials. These accusations were made in many countries, including Pakistan, the United States and Norway etc.

Research shows that the sitting Premier Nawaz Sharif is not the only Pakistani politician who has been accused of operating offshore firms because in 1998, a prestigious American newspaper “The Nw York Times” had published an elaborated investigative account of the shell companies owned by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari.

Zardari and Benazir were, however, cleared by the courts of all corruption charges not only in Pakistan but also in Switzerland. 

The Accountability Court here acquitted former President Asif Ali Zardari in SGS Cotecna as well as ARY Gold Cases in 2015. Moreover, the sentence given by a Swiss court was also later suspended.

"The New York Times" story under review had actually traced its roots back to 1997, when just days before the 1997 general elections, the then caretaker set up headed by late Pakistani President Farooq Leghari and late Premier Malik Meraj Khalid had hired a New York-based investigative agency, Messrs Jules Kroll Associates, to look for evidence pertaining to Bhuttos' corruption in Europe etc.

Resultantly, agents from the British branch of Kroll Associates had started hunting for admissible proofs against the Bhutto family.

In its January 1998 article titled "House of Graft: Tracing the Bhutto millions -- a special report.; Bhutto clan leaves trail of corruption, " the "New York Times" had thus shed a lot of light on the corruption inquiry that Pakistani investigators said had traced more than $100 million to foreign bank accounts and properties controlled by the Benazir Bhutto's family.