"Brick Tracker": reported $1.2 to 1.6bn of airlifted Iraqi cash hidden in a Lebanese bunker (Risen/NYT, October 2014)
In October 2014 New York Times reporter James Risen (book "Pay Any Price" and an NYT article syndicated widely) reported that SIGIR investigators, in an investigation code-named "Brick Tracker", concluded that $1.2 to 1.6bn of the cash flown to Baghdad had been stolen and moved to a bunker in rural Lebanon. Former Inspector General Stuart Bowen said the case could not be closed and that CIA and FBI were briefed; the book says the theft was reportedly known to several prominent Iraqi leaders (unnamed). No official US or Iraqi document confirming the finding has been published, and no recovery is known.
- Period
- From 2004 to October 2014
- Sector
- Reconstruction and donor fundsCash of the Development Fund for Iraq reported as taken and moved abroad
- Kind of case
- Media investigation
- Jurisdiction
- More than one jurisdiction
How the money moved, according to the sources
Allegation: cash from the CPA/Iraqi government stores was removed from Iraq and stored in Lebanon, reportedly with the knowledge of senior Iraqi figures.
What happened
No official confirmation, charges or recovery is on record as of September 2026. It remains an allegation.
Open questions
- Which Iraqi officials were reportedly aware (unnamed in reporting)?
- Has the Iraqi government or Integrity Commission ever sought the funds in Lebanon?
- Are SIGIR "Brick Tracker" case files releasable under FOIA?
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart W. Bowen Jr. ستيوارت بوين | former Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (source of the account) | Not charged as of the date of writing | Interviewed by Risen; said he did not know how the money got to Lebanon. | 25 September 2026 |
| James Risen جيمس رايزن | New York Times reporter; author of Pay Any Price (2014) | Not charged as of the date of writing | Reporter. | 25 September 2026 |
Sources
- Boston Globe (NYT News Service, James Risen)11 October 2014Press reportTier D
Trail of Iraq's missing cash dies in Lebanon
Original - Gulf News (reprint of New York Times News Service, James Risen)12 October 2014Press reportTier D
Missing Iraq billions end up in Lebanese bunker
Originaldiscovering that $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion had been stolen and moved to a bunker in rural Lebanon
- Democracy Now! (book excerpt, James Risen, Pay Any Price, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)14 October 2014BookTier D
READ: Excerpt from James Risen's New Book "Pay Any Price"
OriginalBetween $1.2 and $1.6 billion is believed to be hidden in a bunker in a rural village in Lebanon