Several Finnish companies mentioned in report on Iraq oil-for-food abuses
Finnish oil company not involved in any violations
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According to a United Nations report, more than 2,000 international companies were involved in abuses of the UN oil-for-food programme, which benefitted the regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The programme was initiated in 1996 during the economic embargo of Iraq in order to allow Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food and medicines and alleviate the suffering of the people.
The report of an inquiry led by former US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker mentions five Finnish companies. Fortum Oil and Gas comes up in connection with the oil sales. It had bought a fairly small amount of oil - worth 170,000 dollars - from Iraq while the UN programme was in force. The inquiry did not find that the Fortum Oil and Gas had paid any kickbacks to Iraqi officials.
Other Finnish companies included the elevator manufacturer Kone, the Mercantile KSB conglomerate, and the pharmaceutical companies Orion Pharma and Santen. The inquiry found that their transactions in the oil-for-food programme did involve kickbacks.
Volcker emphasised that his team only investigates, and does not prosecute, and that possible prosecutions have to be decided upon on the national level.
Such action has already been taken in at least France, Italy, and the United States.
Volcker admitted that companies involved in suspicious deals, and who paid service fees to the Iraqis, could have been acting in good faith, but that many of the larger multinational companies should have understood the implications of the UN rules.
Kone and Orion Pharma stress that they operated according to the rules of the UN programme. Representatives of both companies denied to Helsingin Sanomat that they had paid any kickbacks.
The report says that Orion Pharma paid out more than 20,000 US dollars in "service fees", and Kone paid out 190,000 dollars.
Orion Pharma sold medicines to Iraq, and Kone sold escalators and their spare parts for use in Baghdad's airport.
Jyrki Liljeroos, CEO of Santen, which sold eye medicines to Iraq, said on Thursday evening that he was not aware of any dealings between his company and Iraq, or of the Volcker inquiry itself. Helsingin Sanomat was not able to reach representatives of Mercantile KSB, which is now known as KSB Finland.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 28.10.2005 - TODAY |
 Several Finnish companies mentioned in report on Iraq oil-for-food abuses |
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