American prosecutors are investigating claims that a second senior United Nations official involved in the oil-for-food scheme may have been paid off by Saddam Hussein after an Iraqi-born American businessman struck a plea-bargain deal last week. The testimony of Samir Vincent, who pleaded guilty to acting as a covert agent for Baghdad, indicates that Saddam's manipulation of the scheme began at its inception in 1996. Attention has previously focused on how, from 1998, Iraq skimmed off proceeds from the programme and issued vouchers for oil sales to its foreign supporters. In his testimony, however, Vincent, 64, detailed links with the Iraqi regime dating back to 1992. He made the claim that a UN official, who has not yet been named publicly, received cash payments from iraq in 1996 in his statement submitted as a "co-operating witness" to the United States federal court in Manhattan. A copy of the papers has been obtained by The Telegraph.According to the indictment, Vincent was among a group of Iraqi officials and agents who agreed on the scheme to reward those who co-operated with Saddam with the oil vouchers. For his part, Vincent was allegedly rewarded with five oil contracts which he sold for between $3 million and $5 million. Federal prosecutors in New York and congressional investigators in Washington believe that the evidence of the former Iraqi Olympic athlete, who became a wealthy US oil trader with connections at the top of the Republican and Democrat parties, represents a crucial breakthrough that will lead to further indictments. Benon Sevan, the former head of the oil-for-food programme from which Saddam skimmed at least $1.7 billion, is already under investigation by federal prosecutors.
| Wonder if his UN diplomatic immunity applies? |