IN THE NEWS - Cheating Investigated in UN Oil-for-Food Progr

IN THE NEWS - Cheating Investigated in UN Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq
By

Broadcast: Saturday, October 16, 2004

This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.

The United Nations will use money left over from its oil-for-food program in Iraq to pay for an investigation¹ of that program. Secretary General Kofi Annan told the U.N. Security Council this week that thirty million dollars will be used. The money was meant to pay costs of the program, which ended last year.

This past April, Mister Annan appointed Paul Volcker to lead an independent investigation into reports of wrongdoing. Mister Volcker is former chairman of the United States central bank, the Federal Reserve. The oil-for-food program also faces other investigations² in the United States and Iraq.

The Security Council established the program at the end of nineteen ninety-six. The program was designed to ease the harm caused to the Iraqi population by U.N. economic restrictions³. These went into effect after Iraq invaded Kuwait in nineteen ninety.

The program was valued at sixty thousand million dollars. It permitted the former government of Saddam Hussein to sell limited amounts of oil. Money from the oil sales was used to buy food, medicine and other aid.

But in January, an Iraqi newspaper listed about two hundred seventy foreigners suspected of illegally profiting from the oil sales. There were more accusations⁴ last week in a report by an American team, the Iraq Survey Group. Chief American weapons inspector⁵ Charles Duelfer, a special adviser⁶ to the Central Intelligence Agency, prepared the report.

The report said Saddam Hussein made eleven thousand million dollars in oil profits outside U.N. control. It said his government also imported military equipment and other illegal goods.

The report says the former government offered deals to hundreds of individuals, companies and governments in an effort to end the U.N. restrictions. It says many offers were aimed at Russia, France and China, all permanent members of the Security Council. The report also says there were illegal oil sales to Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Egypt during the full period of the restrictions.

The thousand-page Duelfer report says Iraq used a secret system of oil vouchers⁷. These permitted the holder⁸ to buy oil and resell it at a profit. Benon Sevan, the former chief of the U.N. oil-for-food program, is listed among those said to have received vouchers. He has denied any wrongdoing. So have Russia, France and others named in the report.

The Iraq Survey Group also listed American companies and individuals. But American officials said they could not release those names because of privacy laws.

Mister Duelfer said the report was based on Iraqi documents and information from members of the former government. But many of those named in the report say there is no independent proof that illegal offers were accepted.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

8 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。