Roman Kupchinsky
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
March 4, 2004

Roman Kupchinsky, editor of the weekly “Crime, Corruption & Terrorism Watch” report published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, investigates the Al-Mada newspaper expose that named nearly 270 individuals, companies and organizations allegedly given oil coupons in exchange for political support by Saddam Hussein’s former regime. In a two-part report, Kupchinsky explores the list’s links between Saddam’s regime and terrorist organizations and its substantial Russian connection: according to the Al-Mada list, the lion’s share of Saddam’s alleged bribes were given to 46 Russian nationals and organizations in the form of 1.36 billion barrels of crude oil. An exchange Kupchinsky highlights as interesting given that Russia is “a country literally floating on oil.” Kupchinsky speculates Saddam promised the Russians access to develop Iraqi oil fields in return for their co-operation with his “coupon” scheme, a scheme that produced the hard currency Saddam needed to remain in power, despite UN sanctions. The report also examines the credibility of the documents Al-Mada used to compile its list. Writes Kupchinsky: “If even a substantial portion of the allegations prove true, what might best be described as Saddam Hussein’s ‘oil-for-support’ operation could evolve into one of the largest political bribery scandals in recent history, implicating heads of government, senior politicians [and] opinion makers in more than 40 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, along with individuals in the United States and Canada.”

Part one

Part two