manu1959
02-22-2007, 10:41 PM
yea right............
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6388345.stm
S Korean jailed for Iraq bribes
The UN's oil-for-food program has been tainted by corruption
A South Korean man has been jailed for five years for accepting kickbacks from Saddam Hussein to subvert the UN's oil-for-food program in Iraq.
Businessman and lobbyist Tongsun Park was convicted on conspiracy charges in July 2006, for receiving at least $2 million (£1.02 million) from Baghdad.
Mr Park, 71, did not speak at the sentencing hearing in New York.
At his trial last year, Mr Park claimed he was representing the UN's interests in his dealings with Baghdad.
Cash-stuffed envelopes
Handing down the maximum five-year sentence, US District Court Judge Denny Chin said the jail term was "harsh" for a man of his age and health but was reasonable and appropriate.
[Mr Park] acted out of greed, acted to profit out of what was supposed to be a humanitarian program
Denny Chin
US District Court Judge
He was also fined $15,000 (£7,700) and told to forfeit $1.2 million (£613,000).
Mr Park travelled to Iraq to pick up $700,000 in cash and accepted envelopes stuffed with $100 notes, Judge Chin said.
Prosecutors claimed that some of the money Mr Park received was intended to bribe former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
"You acted out of greed, acted to profit out of what was supposed to be a humanitarian program," Judge Chin said.
Established in 1996, the oil-for-food program was a $60bn (£32bn) scheme to help Iraq buy food, medicine and humanitarian supplies with profits from oil sales.
The program, which aimed to help ordinary Iraqis live under strict sanctions imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, was tainted by a corruption scandal.
Mr Park is also due to face trial in Washington DC, accused of making false statements about his role in the UN programme in an interview with FBI agents in December 2004.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6388345.stm
S Korean jailed for Iraq bribes
The UN's oil-for-food program has been tainted by corruption
A South Korean man has been jailed for five years for accepting kickbacks from Saddam Hussein to subvert the UN's oil-for-food program in Iraq.
Businessman and lobbyist Tongsun Park was convicted on conspiracy charges in July 2006, for receiving at least $2 million (£1.02 million) from Baghdad.
Mr Park, 71, did not speak at the sentencing hearing in New York.
At his trial last year, Mr Park claimed he was representing the UN's interests in his dealings with Baghdad.
Cash-stuffed envelopes
Handing down the maximum five-year sentence, US District Court Judge Denny Chin said the jail term was "harsh" for a man of his age and health but was reasonable and appropriate.
[Mr Park] acted out of greed, acted to profit out of what was supposed to be a humanitarian program
Denny Chin
US District Court Judge
He was also fined $15,000 (£7,700) and told to forfeit $1.2 million (£613,000).
Mr Park travelled to Iraq to pick up $700,000 in cash and accepted envelopes stuffed with $100 notes, Judge Chin said.
Prosecutors claimed that some of the money Mr Park received was intended to bribe former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
"You acted out of greed, acted to profit out of what was supposed to be a humanitarian program," Judge Chin said.
Established in 1996, the oil-for-food program was a $60bn (£32bn) scheme to help Iraq buy food, medicine and humanitarian supplies with profits from oil sales.
The program, which aimed to help ordinary Iraqis live under strict sanctions imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, was tainted by a corruption scandal.
Mr Park is also due to face trial in Washington DC, accused of making false statements about his role in the UN programme in an interview with FBI agents in December 2004.