British politician may face charges in oil-for-food 'fraud'

• Hundreds of prominent individuals may be charged after inquiry.

• One of accused alleged to be 'British public figure'.

• UN Security Council agrees to resolution endorsing independent investigation.

Key quote: "There is no question that where the evidence is beyond doubt, the US will take action to put people who defrauded the system to court, and for the courts to apply appropriate justice. That may be criminal courts as well as civil ones." - Hankes-Drielsma, adviser to the Iraqi Governing Council.

Full story: HUNDREDS of businessmen, politicians and United Nations officials could face jail as a result of the inquiry into Iraq’s oil-for-food programme, its chief investigator said last night.

Claude Hankes-Drielsma, the British adviser leading the investigation, said that those who "defrauded the system" of up to $10 billion (5.6 billion) could expect criminal prosecution, as well as civil action to recoup the missing cash.

Mr Hankes-Drielsma spoke to The Scotsman last night ahead of testifying today at a United States congressional hearing into claims that the UN allowed widespread abuse of the programme by Saddam Hussein’s regime.

As well as UN officials, the corruption allegedly involved prominent politicians from Britain and France, hundreds of foreign businessmen, and figures from the world of international organised crime.

Mr Hankes-Drielsma, an adviser to the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) who is overseeing an investigation by the forensic accountants KPMG, said: "From the evidence I have so far, the report will produce some of the most disturbing information that you have ever seen.

"There is no question that where the evidence is beyond doubt, the US will take action to put people who defrauded the system to court, and for the courts to apply appropriate justice. That may be criminal courts as well as civil ones."

In a scathing interview, he said the extent of the corruption, and the UN’s failure to tackle it, made the organisation unfit for any major role in the interim Iraqi government that will take power on 30 June.

Mr Hankes-Drielsma is a former chairman of the management committee at Price Waterhouse and Partners and is the current UK chairman of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

He is a long-term acquaintance of Ahmed Chalabi and Iyad Allawi, both former exiles and members of the IGC, which appointed him to oversee the investigation.

The KPMG report, due in May, follows the publication three months ago of a list of more than 200 people named in Iraqi ministry documents as receiving vouchers for sales of millions of barrels of oil.

Many had no connection with the oil industry, prompting claims that the payments may have been in exchange for political support.

Others allegedly conspired with officials in Saddam’s government in a kick-backs scheme to sell food and medical supplies at inflated prices.

Among those accused of receiving oil vouchers are a British public figure, a senior French official and the president of a Canadian oil company. All have so far denied any impropriety.

However, Mr Hankes-Drielsma, whose team in Baghdad is examining oil ministry files and interviewing ex-civil servants, said most records appeared genuine. He added: "It is not my intention at the hearing at this stage to name individuals, but if I am asked, I will confirm names. It is for the KPMG report to establish who did what."

Investigators estimate that the kick-backs and oil voucher scams may have led to up to 15 per cent of the $62 billion oil-for-food programme being illicitly siphoned off.

Of greatest concern is that UN officials may have been directly cashing in, or at least turning a blind eye.

"Every person within the UN knew what was going on, irrespective of whether they benefited," Mr Hankes-Drielsma said.

He believes investigations will show that France and Russia, both staunch opponents of the Iraq war, were the greatest beneficiaries of the scheme.

His comments came as it was revealed yesterday that the UN Security Council has agreed on a resolution endorsing an independent investigation of the UN oil-for-food programme.