By John Lee. The former Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) has reportedly resigned from his job following allegations that he was also working for a private firm that provided services for the government of Iraq. Stuart Bowen was most recently employed as the inspector general for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, […]
By John Lee. Stuart Bowen, the former Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), has claimed that between $1.2 billion [1.4 trillion Iraqi dinars] and $1.6 billion [IQD 1.9 trillion] allocated for the reconstruction of Iraq was stolen and hidden in a bunker in Lebanon, as the American and Iraqi governments ignored appeals to recover […]
The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), to discuss his proposals for how best to conduct Stability and Reconstruction Operations. Stability and Reconstruction Operations, or (SROs), entail governmental efforts to rebuild crucial infrastructure, implement rule of law, and ensure security in developing countries before, […]
By John Lee. Research by the Financial Times shows that the top 10 American and foreign contractors in Iraq have secured business worth at least $72 billion between them, with the total for all contractors coming in at $138 billion. Top of the list is KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown and Root), which was once run […]
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The US government is still counting the cost of rebuilding Iraq after the invasion ten years ago. But the office responsible for hunting for millions of dollars stolen in the process is being […]
By John Lee. Washington Post reports that the mandate and funding of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), which was established in October 2004, is due to expire in March, marking what it describes as the end of an effort to document and fix the myriad failings of the most ambitious U.S. rebuilding […]
By John Lee. According to a report from Bloomberg, Iraq’s military wants to buy as many as 30 General Dynamics Stryker eight-wheeled combat vehicles. The $25-million deal would be the first international sale of the vehicles, which were developed for the US Army. If accepted by the Iraqi government, the proposal would be submitted to […]
By John Lee. The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) has reported that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) did not establish effective internal controls to document that goods and services paid for using DFI funds were received in Iraq. SIGIR sampled 12 DFI-funded payments, totaling about $1.1 billion, made to USACE and found that […]
By John Lee. A report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) has found that $206 million was wasted on a program to train Iraqi police that Baghdad says is neither needed nor wanted. The Police Development Program (PDP) was to be a five-year multibillion-dollar program to train Iraq’s police forces, and was […]
By John Lee. The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), Stuart Bowen (pictured), has found serious weaknesses in the government’s controls over Iraq reconstruction funds that put billions of American taxpayer dollars at risk of waste and misappropriation. The precise amount lost to fraud and waste can never be known, but SIGIR believes it […]
Bloomberg reports that billions of dollars in Iraqi reconstruction projects may be wasted as the U.S. transfers them to the Iraqi government. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), Stuart Bowen (pictured), told the US's House Oversight Committee: “There remains a vulnerability that thousands of projects [completed with $51 billion in American reconstruction funds] will […]
The US House Oversight Committee held a hearing to assess the transition of control in Iraq from a military to a civilian-led mission. Witnesses included: The Honorable Patrick Kennedy, Under Secretary for Management, U.S. Department of State; Mr. Peter Verga, Chief of Staff for the Under Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Defense; The Honorable […]
