“Saddam himself skimmed more than $10.2 billion from the program through oil smuggling and kickbacks. Saddam used bribes and contracts to sell oil at a profit to sway government officials, politicians, journalists and others in an attempt to get the sanctions lifted.

The Volcker report blasts the U.N. Secretariat and Security Council for inaction, despite repeated reports of corruption, which led to “an evasion of personal responsibility at all levels.” The council  Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States  let him get away with it. “Sadly, those weaknesses were aggravated by unethical and corrupt behavior at key points, at the very top of the program and in the purchasing department,” Volcker said.” (more…)