A UNITED Nations official working for its controversial Oil-For-Food programme for Iraq was a Russian spy who syphoned off almost half a billion dollars for senior Moscow politicians, a defector has claimed.
Alexandre Kramar, who was the Russian overseer of the programme involved in setting the price of Iraqi crude between 1996 and 2003, was allegedly an undercover agent for Russia's foreign intelligence agency, the SVR. The claim was made by Sergei Tretyakov, the SVR's deputy station chief in New York who defected in 2000.
In a new book about Tretyakov by Pete Earley, a former Washington Post reporter, the former spy - who later worked as a double-agent for the US - claims Kramar helped steal vast amounts of UN funds.
Saddam Hussein exploited the programme by selling under-priced oil for political gain. Earley says that Kramar allowed Saddam to profit by 35 cents a barrel. The author estimates that the Russian diverted up to $476 million to 46 people or organisations in Russia.
The allegations will fuel claims that Russia helped Saddam's regime evade UN sanctions.
Oil-for-Food allowed Iraq to sell limited quantities of oil under supervision to raise money to import food, medicine and other humanitarian goods. The oil price was fixed by four UN overseers, although Kramar's colleagues gradually dropped out, leaving him to set the price almost alone.
