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IRAQ'S CORRUPTION
العربية
Cases

US reconstruction programme in Iraq: official waste or fraud estimates and prosecution totals (SIGIR 2013; Commission on Wartime Contracting 2011)

SIGIR's final report "Learning From Iraq" (March 2013) covered more than $60bn of US taxpayer funds for Iraq and estimated that the programme wasted at least $8bn; its investigations produced 104 indictments, 82 convictions and $191.2m in court-ordered monetary penalties by then. Separately, the Commission on Wartime Contracting (August 2011) estimated that at least $31bn and possibly $60bn was lost to contract waste and fraud across Iraq AND Afghanistan combined. These are US funds and official estimates; they must not be added to Iraqi public-money losses.

Period
From 2003 to 2013
Sector
Reconstruction and donor fundsUS-appropriated reconstruction funds
Kind of case
Official statement or estimate
Jurisdiction
United States

How the money moved, according to the sources

This account is the one given by the sources listed on this page. It is not the finding of a court.

Waste (poorly planned or unused projects), fraud (overbilling, bribery, theft of cash) and weak contract oversight in large-scale contingency contracting.

What happened

Official estimates and US prosecution totals (to March 2013: 104 indictments, 82 convictions).

Open questions

  • SIGIR's September 2013 final quarterly report updated these totals.
  • How much of the $8bn waste related to Iraqi-controlled projects vs US-run projects?

People and companies

The table lists everyone this case names, with their legal status on the date shown. A status in this case does not carry over to any other case, and an accusation is not a conviction. How to read the status.

This case does not name any person or company. It rests on figures and institutions.

Sources

These are the documents on which this case rests. Each quote is given in the language of the document.
  1. Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan (GovInfo)31 August 2011Audit reportTier A

    Transforming Wartime Contracting: Controlling Costs, Reducing Risks, Final Report to Congress

    The Commission’s conservative estimate of waste and fraud ranges from $31 billion to $60 billion based on contract spending from FY 2002 projected through the end of FY 2011.
    OriginalSHA-256 34277adca872
  2. SIGIRMarch 2013Audit reportTier A

    Learning From Iraq: A Final Report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

    details about the use of more than $60 billion in taxpayer dollars to support programs and projects in Iraq
    Ultimately, we estimate that the Iraq program wasted at least $8 billion.
    SIGIR investigations have produced 104 indictments, 82 convictions, and $191.2 million in court- ordered monetary penalties.
    OriginalSHA-256 070e8e2df4f4

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