On August 19, 2005, Danish industrial pipe production company Grundfos admitted to paying bribes to Iraqi authorities of Saddam Hussein's government under the UN oil-for-food program, which was created to exchange Iraqi oil for food and medicine in 1996. An internal Grundfos investigation uncovered the bribes, prompting Chief Executive Jens Joergen Madsen to issue a statement apologizing for the fraud. On February 3, 2005, a previous investigation by the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) concluded that head of the program Benon Sevan "seriously undermined" UN integrity. US prosecutors eventually indicted Sevan, forcing him to resign.

Flag of Iraq

Learn more about the UN oil-for-food program from the JURIST news archive.

Also on This Day at Law:


US and Switzerland reached a deal over access to UBS accounts
Thai voters approved new constitution