Moscow Stonewalls UN Probe on Iraq

Moscow is withholding information from a United Nations investigation into possible corruption in the Iraqi oil-for-food program, The Associated Press reported, citing a source close to the probe.

The Russian government is trying to derail the investigative work of the UN commission led by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, an unnamed source said, the news agency reported Wednesday night.

"The Russians have been reluctant to provide witnesses and information," the official said. "They are being problematic, and they are digging in their heels. They're not handing over materials."

This week the Volcker Commission sent a four-member team to Moscow, which held consultations with the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The statement marks a rare public reproach in the investigation. Since it was formed in April, the Volcker Commission has said governments are cooperating with its work.

The remarks come on the heels of accusations by a top U.S. official on Monday that Moscow is stalling a Washington-led bid to recover assets squirreled away by officials in the Saddam Hussein regime.

The criticism of Russia's cooperation with the Volcker Commission contrasted starkly with the sunny assessment made by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

During this week's meetings with commission investigators, "it was noted that ... Russian exporters strictly adhered to the sanctions regime," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The members of the commission were told that ... no proof has been presented that the sanctions regime was violated during the humanitarian operation. All these allegations are based, to a greater or lesser degree, on media reports."

The oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, was designed to ease tough international sanctions against Iraq. The country was allowed to sell a limited amount of oil to select companies and to use the proceeds to buy food and other humanitarian goods.

Hussein is believed to have abused the program, making up to $20 billion by charging illicit surcharges in exchange for oil vouchers, and through other schemes.

The top U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq, Charles Duelfer, presented a report to Congress in October charging that Russian politicians, political parties, companies and government bodies made huge profits through the oil-for-food program.

The Foreign Ministry itself was a major voucher recipient, the report said.

Russian firms were by far the top participants in the program, the Volcker Commission said last month. The commission cautioned, however, that simply participating in the program did not necessarily imply illegal activity.

In the past, criticism of Russia has been reserved to its cozy business ties to the former Iraqi regime. But this week was the first time that Moscow came under fire for not fully cooperating with probes into Hussein's murky world of finance.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the AP's report, saying he could not respond to charges made by an unnamed source. He also said Russia is cooperating and will continue to cooperate with the Volcker Commission.