The Trial of Saddam Hussein and The Fallout of The War

The Trial of Saddam Hussein

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The fallout in the Middle East from the regime change in Iraq

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Sanctions Breached

Mabey & Johnson, a British bridge construction company, has admitted that it may have made corrupt payments to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq to win an export order.

Mabey & Johnson have been under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office for more than a year.

In its recent annual results Mabey said that in April this year, it "disclosed to the SFO evidence that had come to light suggesting that in 2002 the company may have indirectly made two payments to the Iraqi regime in breach of UN sanctions".

Mabey added that it "has recently been notified of allegations that certain historical contracts may have been procured through corrupt acts".

The company has called in a firm of City lawyers, Herbert Smith, to carry out its own inquiry into all the corruption allegations. New managers have been installed at the firm.

The UN report in sanctions busting alleges that Mabey paid a $202K kickback between 2001 and 2003, and was given a $3.6M contract by the Iraqis.