Seems that there's a large chunk of money - $96.6 million dollars, to be exact - that has disappeared from the books.
The money came from the Development Fund for Iraq... The money had been intended for rebuilding projects in south-central Iraq. But auditors with the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction found that of $119.9 million allocated, $7.2 million could not be accounted for at all, and $89.4 million in reported spending could not be backed up with sufficient documentation, according to a report released yesterday.
This is in the town of Hilla, which in 2003 demanded that their governor be replaced after three days of protests. After the governor resigned, the U.S. appointed an acting governor - which led to even greater protests.
The special inspector general's office reported that the coalition provisional authority, which held power until last June, had lost track of $9bn in reconstruction funds as a result of poor book-keeping.
Sounds like they should have been looking closer at the people in charge over there in Hilla.
Looks like those guys aren't the only ones lining their pockets, either. Auditors also uncovered evidence that two unnamed agents managed to make off with $1.5 million left on their books.
The audit does highlight a case in which two unnamed field agents responsible for disbursing cash left Iraq with $1.5 million between them left on their books. Authorities could not locate the cash. The audit's authors said an account manager's later effort to reconcile the difference by applying one agent's surplus to another's deficit "appears to be an attempt to remove outstanding balances by simply washing accounts.
Although the articles aren't specific, you have to wonder if Halliburton had anything to do with this - they're already under investigation for $200 million in questionable costs for delivering fuel to Iraq.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/04/AR2005050402256.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1477409,00.html
