The alleged kickbacks are one of a number of claims of corruption and mismanagement the Guardian has uncovered in the Funding Facility for Stabilization, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) scheme launched in 2015 and backed by $1.5bn (£1.2bn) in support so far from 30 donors including the UK.
Since the 2003 US-led invasion, the international community has pumped billions of aid dollars into Iraq. Twenty years on, the country still suffers from poor services and infrastructure, despite being the world's fourth largest oil producer and generating a record-breaking $115bn in oil revenues last year.
Corruption and kickbacks have been described as "the lifeblood of politics in Iraq", which is why the UN carries out projects directly. In a statement to the Guardian, the UNDP said it had "internal mechanisms that prevent and detect corruption and mismanagement, supported by robust compliance procedures and internal controls".
But interviews with more than two dozen current and former UN employees, contractors and Iraqi and western officials suggest the UN is fuelling the culture of bribery that has permeated Iraqi society since Saddam Hussein's overthrow in 2003.
Denne historien er fra January 23, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra January 23, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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