War & Disaster Profiteering

The U.S. freezes the assets of 30 firms and four people linked to Russian Victor Bout. Read More

The reputation of Custer Battles has been shattered by accusations first aired in lawsuits against it by DRC, the Alabama-based disaster services firm headed by globe-trotting former FBI agent Robert "Bob" Isakson. Now Custer Battles has filed a counterclaim -- sort of a lawsuit within a lawsuit -- accusing DRC of the similar activities, such as fraudulent billing, leveled by Isakson. Read More

Cotecna Inspection S.A., the Swiss company that monitored the shipment of humanitarian goods to Iraq under the oil-for-food program, has accused the committee investigating the program for the United Nations of making "false, misleading and malicious" statements. Read More

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said U.S. Embassy officials have expressed concern several times over Manila's move to bring home an estimated 6,000 Filipino workers from Iraq amid increasing insurgency there. Filipinos represent the biggest number of foreigners working for US-run military installations in Iraq. Read More

The United States is troubled by the Philippine government's attempts to persuade Filipino workers to leave Iraq. Their withdrawal from Iraq is expected to have an adverse impact on the operation of the camps since Filipinos make up the largest number of foreign workers in the camps. Read More

Families of the two security officers from Fiji killed in a helicopter crash in northern Baghdad last week will each receive insurance payouts of around $100,000 after the men's funerals this week. Read More

Tim Bell's family will get together to mark his second birthday since the Mobile man disappeared in Iraq on April 9, 2004 following an attack on a truck convoy for a Halliburton subsidiary. Bell's mother and children joined a lawsuit against Halliburton in Texas state court charging that Halliburton concealed the dangers of working in Iraq. Read More

Former Supply U.S. Army Sgt. Matt Novak and some of his buddies immediately went looking for their own windfall, and they found one: $200 million packed in 50 boxes of $100 bills. Before they knew it, soldiers were grabbing bundles of bills. The Army offered amnesty to any soldier who returned cash, but Novak says not all of the money found in Iraq was returned. Read More

"You start to think 'it's not so bad here.'" A joke e-mail being circulated among contractors in Iraq. Read More

German industry has come under the scrutiny of UN investigators. As far back as October, UN staffers with the investigation contacted Germany's Foreign Ministry in Berlin and submitted a list containing 50 German companies. According to government sources, that list "also included some very well-known companies." Read More