Reply #1: Briton accused in Iraq oil scam [View All]

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The Sunday Times

Gareth Walsh



A BRITISH oil trader accused of paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein says he will fight the allegations.
John Irving, 50, is believed by American investigators to have been involved in a scheme to bypass the UN oil-for-food programme by channelling money through a front company.

Irving has been charged along with David Chalmers, owner of Houston-based Bayoil, and Ludmil Dionissiev, a Bulgarian oil trader. Chalmers and Dionissiev were arrested in Houston and will appear in court tomorrow.

Last week Irving’s lawyer, Andrew Preston, said Irving was merely a Bayoil employee and was “absolutely shocked” to be named in criminal proceedings in New York.

“He denies any wrongdoing and is going to fight this all the way. We are told there is a warrant out for his arrest and extradition proceedings have been issued in New York but we have not heard anything from the authorities in Britain.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1582761,00.html