BP compensation fund called vulnerable

LONDON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Funds made available for victims of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are vulnerable to fraudulent claims, the U.S. administrator of the funding said.

Kenneth Feinberg, who administrated compensation funds for victims of the Sept. 11 2001 terrorist attacks, said, "There's no doubt that fraud is hovering all the time over a program like this," the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday. Feinberg was interviewed by the BBC.

He also said he would be vigilant about processing claims. About $1.3 billion of the $20 billion fund set up for victims of the Deepwater Horizons oil spill, has been dispersed.

The oil spill began with an explosion on an oil platform in the gulf that killed 11 workers.

The compensation program has received 160,000 applications for compensation, about half in the past two weeks, Feinberg said.