Saddam took €1.5bn in oil-for-food pact

HALF of the 4,500 companies in the UN oil-for-food programme, including Volvo and Daimler Chrysler, paid €1.5 billion in kickbacks and illicit surcharges to Saddam Hussein’s government, a UN report has concluded.

Paul Volcker, who led the inquiry, said the corruption would not have been so pervasive had there been better discipline by UN management.

He emphasised the need for wide-ranging UN reforms.