New fraud task force set up in Iraq

WASHINGTON, March 23 (UPI) -- U.S. law and anti-corruption agencies are launching a task force to fight contracting fraud and crime in Iraq.

The International Contract Corruption Task Force will comprise the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Defense Criminal Investigation Service, the Army Criminal Investigation Division" Major Procurement Fraud unit, the State Department inspector general, USAID IG, and the FBI, according to Thomas Gimble, the Pentagon IG, pf which DCIS is a part.

The task force was created "as a result of the magnitude of alleged criminal activity within the Iraq theater," Gimble told the Senate Judiciary Committee this week.

At the same time, the Pentagon inspector general's office is trawling through thousands of payment records from U.S. Army contracts issued in Iraq for signs of fraudulent payments. Although the long-term project is still in its early stages, several questionable payments have already been identified and referred to the FBI for investigation.

The DCIS has conducted 10 investigations into alleged war profiteering, Gimble said. They have resulted in four federal criminal indictments and two Article 32 hearings for U.S. military personnel. In them , eight Americans and one foreigner were convicted of fraud with a combined 14 and a half years in prison. Nearly $10 million was paid to the U.S. government in restitution, he said.