UN 'did nothing' while Saddam smuggled oil

The man leading an independent investigation into alleged corruption in the United Nations’ oil-for-food programme said most of the money illegally obtained by Saddam Hussein came from smuggling, much of which the UN Security Council knew about but did not stop.

In an interview to be broadcast today on Alhurra, the US government-backed television station tailored for Arab audiences, Paul Volcker questioned the reliability of reports that Saddam diverted amounts ranging from €1.3bn to €16.5bn from the €46.9bn oil-for-food programme.