New Delhi, India – The Indian government stripped its foreign minister of his responsibilities Monday over accusations he profited from corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq.
It makes him the first political casualty of a report accusing thousands of colluding with Saddam Hussein’s regime to bilk the humanitarian effort.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday summoned Natwar Singh for an hour-long meeting at his residence and demoted him to minister without portfolio, the government said in a statement.
The accusation that the ousted foreign minister was among more than 2,200 prominent companies and politicians worldwide to illegally benefit from the program has roiled India for days and led to widespread calls that he step down.
The independent inquiry, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, named Natwar Singh and the ruling Congress party as a “non-contractual beneficiary” of the $64 billion oil-for-food program in a report released two weeks ago.
Singh has said he received no favors or bribes from Hussein’s government and did not benefit from the humanitarian program that let Iraq sell oil, as long as most of the money was used to help ordinary Iraqis cope with U.N. sanctions.
The scathing report that was released Oct. 27 rattled reputations worldwide, alleging that Hussein, who could choose the buyers of Iraqi oil and the sellers of humanitarian goods, corrupted the 1996-2003 program by awarding contracts to – and getting kickbacks from – favored buyers. The program was aimed at easing Iraqi suffering under U.N. sanctions imposed after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Others implicated include the program’s executive director and a U.N. staffer, both Cypriots; a Russian staffer; and 10 French officials and business leaders.
But Singh’s demotion was the first government action taken against an acting official since the independent report was released, confirming earlier findings that had been revealed.
