[JURIST] The office of the UN Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) [official website] tasked with investigating the oil-for-food program [official website; JURIST news archive] will remain open an additional three months, until March 31, so prosecutors can assist "duly authorized law enforcement and regulatory agencies in cases they may be pursuing against companies, individuals and entities," the UN announced Thursday. The IIC, led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker [official profile], will not continue its own investigation and will disband as planned on December 31, but will assist prosecutors around the world with their own investigations. Several countries have commenced their own investigations after the IIC's October 27 report [JURIST report] accused more than 2,200 companies in 66 countries of channeling $1.8 billion to Saddam Hussein's government. South African Judge and IIC Commissioner Richard Goldstone [official profile] said, "Anything that we are able legally and morally to share with a prosecutor or authority of any country, we will be more than willing to do that." Reuters has more. The UN News Center has additional coverage.