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Oil-For-Food Scandal; Rice Confirmation Hearing
Aired January 18, 2005 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to LIVE FROM. We are still monitoring the Condoleezza Rice confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill -- Hill, that is. Here is a live look at that. We'll take it when it happens.
But first, a developing story involving the United Nations Oil- for-Food scandal. Details from CNN's Justice correspondent Kelli Arena, who's in Washington.
Hi, Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.
Well, in just a few minutes, we expect Attorney General John Ashcroft to announce the first U.S. charges in the Oil-for-Food scandal. Samir Vincent, who is an Iraqi-American and head of the oil company, Phoenix International, has, as part of a plea deal with the government, pled guilty to illegally conspiring to act as an agent for Saddam Hussein.
Now, the government alleges that he negotiated with U.N. officials to let Iraq sell oil and then accepted millions of dollars in compensation for that effort. Then lied to it -- lied about it to federal agents.
Now, the government says that Vincent has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. And he faces a maximum prison term of 28 years. He also agreed to restate some of his tax returns.
Now, during her confirmation hearing a bit earlier, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice spoke of the Oil-for-Food Program and efforts to find out where it went wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We've opened up the Iraq -- the Iraq Survey Group's files, in effect, to people. We've got to get to the bottom of what happened here. And those who were responsible, I think, should be held accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: The criminal charges against Vincent are part of a larger probe into the allegations that U.N. administrators took bribes and then let Saddam Hussein skim money from the Oil-for-Food Program. The program was originally geared toward allowing Iraq to buy food, medicine and other items while oil sanctions were in effect. Now, only the government of Iraq had the power to choose the companies and the individuals who could buy the Iraqi oil. And court documents show that the Iraqi government made recipients pay bribes from at least the year 2000 to 2003.
Now, the Justice Department investigation is ongoing, as are other probes, including an investigation by former head of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker. And Betty, as I said, any minute now we are expecting to hear more details from the attorney general.
NGUYEN: And, of course, we will take that live when it happens. Kelli Arena, we thank you for that -- Tony.
ARENA: You're welcome.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And now to the confirmation hearings of secretary of state nominee Condoleezza Rice. The morning session wrapped about an hour ago on Capitol Hill, but more tough questions from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are to come later today.
CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel joins us now from Washington -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Tony, boy, were the sparks flying. You know, Condoleezza Rice is a well-known face to many of the American people, and people around the world, for that matter. She's been national security adviser for the last four years, never far from the president's side. But her positions on various policies are not well known because Rice has deliberately kept her personal opinions private and only shared them with the president.
Now, the purpose of today's hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee is to help flush out those positions. It was expected to be a very civil exchange, and for much of it, it was. She's got a lot of fans on the committee.
Boy, I'll tell you, just before the break, the sparks were flying. In particular, an exchange that Ms. Rice had with Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, who questioned Rice and implied that she had deliberately misled the American public regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Now, perhaps the most well- known statement you've made was the one about Saddam Hussein launching a nuclear weapon on America with the image of, quote -- quoting you -- "a mushroom cloud." That image had to frighten every American into believing that Saddam Hussein was on the verge of annihilating them if he was not stopped. And I will be placing into the record a number of such statements you made which have not been consistent with the facts.
RICE: I have never, ever lost respect for the truth in the service of anything. It is not my nature. It is not my character. And I would hope that we can have this conversation and discuss what happened before and what went on before and what I said without impugning my credibility or my integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Now, the hearings lasted -- the morning session, at least ran, for about four hours, with the intensity building much as the crescendo in a piece of classical music that Ms. Rice loves so much tends to do. There was the big "wow" just before the hearing broke, but we're expected to pick up this afternoon.
And even though she is expected to be confirmed, Tony, senators really looking for some answers as to what her vision, how she is going to be different as a secretary of state...
HARRIS: Yes.
KOPPEL: ... from her current position as national security adviser. And she's expected to be, quite frankly, the most powerful and have the closest relationship to the president since John Foster Dulles served President Dwight D. Eisenhower -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Andrea, which means that she will likely get more questions along this same line in the afternoon session as well.
KOPPEL: Absolutely. I haven't looked at the list just before the break, but you can expect that the most pointed questions, understandably, coming from Democrats, not from the Republicans.
HARRIS: OK. Andrea Koppel, State Department correspondent. Andrea Koppel reporting for us. Andrea, thank you.
NGUYEN: Faced with no letup in the ongoing violence, Iraq's interim government is taking new steps to secure the country before elections that are now just 12 days away. Among today's attacks, this suicide bombing at a political party office in Baghdad. It killed one person and injured more than half a dozen others. As the violence goes on, Iraqi officials have decided to close the country's borders from January 29th through the 31st.
Now, in a positive development, the Catholic archbishop who was kidnapped yesterday in Mosul has been released unharmed. The Vatican says pope John Paul II thanked god for that happy ending.
HARRIS: Let's take you now to the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
JOHN ASHCROFT, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm pleased to be joined today by the criminal division assistant attorney general, Chris Wray; the United States attorney for the southern district of New York, David Kelley; by FBI Counterintelligence Division Assistant Director David Szady; and by special agent in charge of the New York Office of the FBI National Security Division, John Locha (ph). And let me thank each of you for your efforts in this case and pursuing justice, the effort we are here to announce today.
In 1996, the United Nations implemented the Oil-for-Food program. Proceeds of sale of Iraqi oil were required to be deposited into an escrow bank account, monitored by the United Nations.
The funds were to be used only to purchase such necessities as medicine and food for the Iraqi people. The Oil-for-Food Program was designed so that innocent Iraqi people would not unduly suffer from the United Nations' sanctions lodged against the brutal Hussein regime in the aftermath of the operation known as Operation Desert Storm.
But the Hussein regime corrupted the Oil-for-Food Program, depriving the Iraqi people of food and medicine and undermining the international sanctions. The Hussein regime had accomplices in corrupting and weakening the international sanctions program that were imposed on the regime.
Today, one of those accomplices in corrupting and weakening the international sanctions program becomes the first to be convicted under the Justice Department's active and ongoing probe of fraud and abuse in the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program. This morning, in federal court, in the southern district of New York, Samir A. Vincent pled guilty to a four-count information about his activities related to the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program.
One count each of conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and acting as an unregistered agent. One count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, IEEPA, and one count of false statements in income tax returns.
The offenses charged carry a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison. Five years imprisonment on the conspiracy charge, 10 years imprisonment for acting as an unregistered foreign agent -- pardon me -- of the government of Iraq, 10 years for imprisonment for International Emergency Economic Powers Act violations, and a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment on the tax charge.
As part of the agreement, Vincent is cooperating with the United States Justice Department's investigation of corruption in the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program. The United Nations Oil-for-Food Program was to be used only for humanitarian purposes. This program followed the 1990 economic sanctions put in place by the U.N. that prohibited member states of the United Nations from, among other things, purchasing Iraqi oil and selling a wide range of goods to Iraq.
During the operation of the Oil-for-Food Program, federal law prohibited the United -- pardon me -- federal law prohibited the United States companies and individuals from executing contracts with the government of Iraq unless they received a license issued by the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Iraq began selling oil pursuant to the Oil-for-Food Program in late 1996.
Under the Oil-for-Food Program, officials at the highest levels of the Iraqi regime had the power to select the companies and individuals who received the rights to purchase Iraqi oil. These companies and individuals, many of whom were not otherwise involved in the oil industry, made large profits by selling their allocations of Iraqi oil to brokers or companies capable of transporting the oil to a refinery. From about the year 2000, up to the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March of 2003, officials of the Iraqi regime conditioned the distribution of allocations of oil on the recipients' willingness to pay to the regime, in secret, a percentage of the total amount of each oil contract sold. The Iraqi regime directed that these surcharges, which told at least -- totaled at least several hundred million dollars, be paid to front companies or bank accounts under the control of the Iraqi regime and various countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Samir Vincent, a naturalized United States citizen, was one of these individuals selected by the Iraqi regime to receive oil allocations. Between 1996 and 2003, Vincent has admitted to receiving allocations for more than nine million barrels of oil, the rights to which he sold for millions of dollars.
Vincent has admitted his ties to the Hussein regime extended beyond the period when the Oil-for-Food Program was in operation. Going back to 1992, Vincent has admitted to consulting with and repeatedly receiving direction from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. Vincent has also admitted to lobbying officials of the United States government and the United Nations to repeal sanctions against Iraq and to support the Oil-for-Food Program.
In February of 1996, Vincent traveled to Baghdad and drafted agreements with Iraqi government officials that guaranteed millions of dollars of compensation for Vincent and others if they were able to get the Oil-for-Food Program implemented. Between 1998 and 2003, Vincent lobbied former officials of the United States government who maintained close contacts to high-ranking members of both the Clinton and Bush administrations in an unsuccessful effort to persuade the United States government to support a repeal of sanctions against Iraq.
Vincent reported the results of those consultations to the Iraqi Intelligence Service and other officials of the government of Iraq. At no time did Vincent register as an agent of a foreign power with the Department of Justice.
I thank Chris Wray and the criminal division of the United States Justice Department, U.S. Attorney David Kelley for his focus and pursuit of justice in this matter, together with officials in the criminal division. I also thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI's national security division for its invaluable and ongoing efforts in this investigation. And I am grateful to them for the work that they have done and the achievement of this first conviction in the matter related to the Oil-for-Food Program.
I'd be pleased to respond to your questions or to refer them to individuals with specific awareness of these topics for their responses -- yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Do you believe that this plea agreement and the one to cooperate with the investigation is going to lead to others being charged such as Kojo Annan or anyone else? ASHCROFT: This is an ongoing matter and an ongoing investigation. And for me to comment further about it would be inappropriate at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much money do you believe that Mr. Vincent profited from all of this?
ASHCROFT: The items which I mentioned as a part of the allegations which were submitted to the court, along with the plea today, indicated that there were many millions of barrels of oil and millions of dollars involved.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what is the status of the ill-gotten gains? Is that all -- where is that going to the extent that any of it can be recovered?
ASHCROFT: I'm not in a position to comment on that.
Mr. Kelley, I don't know if you want to make remarks in that respect.
DAVID KELLEY, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: We're still dealing with those issues. Today we just took the guilty plea on Samir Vincent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since you're at the microphone, do you have any numbers as far as hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars that Mr. Vincent himself gained? And what came out of court on that today?
KELLEY: What came out of court today, I don't know. But I can tell you that Vincent -- the amount of money that Vincent got was -- both from the payments and from the allocations of oil were in the several millions of dollars. Giving estimates somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million to $5 million that he benefited directly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, what are the options? Where could that money go, that several millions of dollars?
KELLEY: That's not something we're going to comment on today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Kelley, can you just describe how your office has been working with the U.N. on this and the Volcker Commission and any other reports that the district attorney's office is also looking at, the Federal Reserve?
KELLEY: Well, we -- we obviously work very cooperatively and we always have in all our investigations with other federal agencies that would include as well the Federal Reserve. With regard to Chairman Volcker's commission, we've been in ongoing dialogue with them in an effort to both achieve our mutual goals. And I expect that the dialogue will continue.
With regard to, you know, state or local investigating agencies, that's not something I can... HARRIS: And there you have Attorney General John Ashcroft announcing the first charges and, in fact, a conviction in the U.N.- run Oil-for-Food Program. Samir Vincent, an Iraqi-American businessman, pleaded guilty to four charges, and he's also agreed to cooperate with the United States and its continuing investigation of the Oil-for-Food Program.
A lot to chew on here. Let's get more on this developing story now. We'll bring in Chris Huntington from New York.
Chris, what did you hear in the announcement from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft?
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, what is most significant about Samir Vincent, who certainly is not a household name to most Americans, is that he is very well known to many members who have been in power in the U.S. government other the years.
Samir Vincent was a very visible lobbyist on behalf of Saddam Hussein dating back to the Clinton administration. He heavily lobbied then the first Bush administration, having meetings, we are told, with members of that administration. He went on in several different guises over the past years, to, again, be very visible.
This is, of course, stated in the indictment. The fact that he was an unregistered foreign agent of Iraq and on behalf of Saddam Hussein seems to be the charges that they are -- that the Justice Department is bringing specifically. But it is no secret that Samir Vincent was an advocate for lifting the sanctions against the Iraqi government. Now, fast forward to the Oil-for-Food Program.
HARRIS: Yes.
HUNTINGTON: Again, as Kelli Arena mentioned before the press conference, one of the key features of the program is that Saddam Hussein, really, himself had the final say as to who would be able to buy oil from the program. So it's no secret and it's no surprise that he allocated those very valuable vouchers to buy oil from the program to people who were favorable to him. And, of course, Samir Vincent is one of those people, a longtime advocate for lifting sanctions against Iraq -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, and Chris, I think we're learning more about how this program was run. You didn't have to be in the oil business at all to be a part of this. You -- it seems that one of the things you need to have was some kind of ties, some kind of a relationship with the Saddam Hussein regime.
HUNTINGTON: That's pretty much it, in a nutshell. I mean, certainly most of the companies that were involved with the program had some direct ties to the oil industry. But frankly, oil is a fungible product, and you could -- you could get the vouchers, buy the oil and sell it.
Now, what we're looking at here is a list of the U.S. companies and citizens who received -- who purchased oil through the program. Topping the list is a gentleman not mentioned today, but we may hear more about him, a gentleman from Houston called -- named Oscar Wyatt, and his company, Coastal. The two top entries there combined for more oil from that program than all the other U.S. companies and citizens combined.
If we go to the second page, you'll see Samir Vincent show up a little bit further down the list with his company, Phoenix, getting, by the CIA's estimate, somewhere in the neighborhood of -- you heard the Justice Department say about nine million barrels.
HARRIS: Right.
HUNTINGTON: The CIA estimates that just on the oil purchases alone, Vincent made about $3.6 million. But we are hearing from the Justice Department, their allegations that he was paid directly by the Iraqi government, by Saddam Hussein, as an agent in the United States.
HARRIS: And Chris, let me ask you a follow-up to that. As you take a look at that list and you see Samir Vincent's name, and you know now that he has agreed to cooperate with the investigation, it sounds like that there's a possibility that Samir Vincent will be helping the authorities move up the list a bit.
HUNTINGTON: This is prosecution 101 here. They have struck a plea bargain with somebody who probably knows an awful lot about the way this program was administered. And there is no doubt that the Justice Department will be trying to put the leverage on Samir Vincent to tell the prosecutors what he knows about who else received perhaps favorable treatment and perhaps illegal treatment under that program.
HARRIS: Chris Huntington, appreciate it. Thank you -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And we have much more to come right here on LIVE FROM, including we're waiting to go back to Condoleezza Rice's Senate confirmation hearings to become secretary of state. When that happens, we'll take it live here on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, a lot of us dread those long flights. Not to worry, though, because they could get a lot more comfortable in the near future now that the world's largest passenger jet has been unveiled.
HARRIS: OK. Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details -- Susan.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired January 18, 2005 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to LIVE FROM. We are still monitoring the Condoleezza Rice confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill -- Hill, that is. Here is a live look at that. We'll take it when it happens.
But first, a developing story involving the United Nations Oil- for-Food scandal. Details from CNN's Justice correspondent Kelli Arena, who's in Washington.
Hi, Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.
Well, in just a few minutes, we expect Attorney General John Ashcroft to announce the first U.S. charges in the Oil-for-Food scandal. Samir Vincent, who is an Iraqi-American and head of the oil company, Phoenix International, has, as part of a plea deal with the government, pled guilty to illegally conspiring to act as an agent for Saddam Hussein.
Now, the government alleges that he negotiated with U.N. officials to let Iraq sell oil and then accepted millions of dollars in compensation for that effort. Then lied to it -- lied about it to federal agents.
Now, the government says that Vincent has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. And he faces a maximum prison term of 28 years. He also agreed to restate some of his tax returns.
Now, during her confirmation hearing a bit earlier, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice spoke of the Oil-for-Food Program and efforts to find out where it went wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We've opened up the Iraq -- the Iraq Survey Group's files, in effect, to people. We've got to get to the bottom of what happened here. And those who were responsible, I think, should be held accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: The criminal charges against Vincent are part of a larger probe into the allegations that U.N. administrators took bribes and then let Saddam Hussein skim money from the Oil-for-Food Program. The program was originally geared toward allowing Iraq to buy food, medicine and other items while oil sanctions were in effect. Now, only the government of Iraq had the power to choose the companies and the individuals who could buy the Iraqi oil. And court documents show that the Iraqi government made recipients pay bribes from at least the year 2000 to 2003.
Now, the Justice Department investigation is ongoing, as are other probes, including an investigation by former head of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker. And Betty, as I said, any minute now we are expecting to hear more details from the attorney general.
NGUYEN: And, of course, we will take that live when it happens. Kelli Arena, we thank you for that -- Tony.
ARENA: You're welcome.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And now to the confirmation hearings of secretary of state nominee Condoleezza Rice. The morning session wrapped about an hour ago on Capitol Hill, but more tough questions from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are to come later today.
CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel joins us now from Washington -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Tony, boy, were the sparks flying. You know, Condoleezza Rice is a well-known face to many of the American people, and people around the world, for that matter. She's been national security adviser for the last four years, never far from the president's side. But her positions on various policies are not well known because Rice has deliberately kept her personal opinions private and only shared them with the president.
Now, the purpose of today's hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee is to help flush out those positions. It was expected to be a very civil exchange, and for much of it, it was. She's got a lot of fans on the committee.
Boy, I'll tell you, just before the break, the sparks were flying. In particular, an exchange that Ms. Rice had with Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, who questioned Rice and implied that she had deliberately misled the American public regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Now, perhaps the most well- known statement you've made was the one about Saddam Hussein launching a nuclear weapon on America with the image of, quote -- quoting you -- "a mushroom cloud." That image had to frighten every American into believing that Saddam Hussein was on the verge of annihilating them if he was not stopped. And I will be placing into the record a number of such statements you made which have not been consistent with the facts.
RICE: I have never, ever lost respect for the truth in the service of anything. It is not my nature. It is not my character. And I would hope that we can have this conversation and discuss what happened before and what went on before and what I said without impugning my credibility or my integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Now, the hearings lasted -- the morning session, at least ran, for about four hours, with the intensity building much as the crescendo in a piece of classical music that Ms. Rice loves so much tends to do. There was the big "wow" just before the hearing broke, but we're expected to pick up this afternoon.
And even though she is expected to be confirmed, Tony, senators really looking for some answers as to what her vision, how she is going to be different as a secretary of state...
HARRIS: Yes.
KOPPEL: ... from her current position as national security adviser. And she's expected to be, quite frankly, the most powerful and have the closest relationship to the president since John Foster Dulles served President Dwight D. Eisenhower -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Andrea, which means that she will likely get more questions along this same line in the afternoon session as well.
KOPPEL: Absolutely. I haven't looked at the list just before the break, but you can expect that the most pointed questions, understandably, coming from Democrats, not from the Republicans.
HARRIS: OK. Andrea Koppel, State Department correspondent. Andrea Koppel reporting for us. Andrea, thank you.
NGUYEN: Faced with no letup in the ongoing violence, Iraq's interim government is taking new steps to secure the country before elections that are now just 12 days away. Among today's attacks, this suicide bombing at a political party office in Baghdad. It killed one person and injured more than half a dozen others. As the violence goes on, Iraqi officials have decided to close the country's borders from January 29th through the 31st.
Now, in a positive development, the Catholic archbishop who was kidnapped yesterday in Mosul has been released unharmed. The Vatican says pope John Paul II thanked god for that happy ending.
HARRIS: Let's take you now to the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
JOHN ASHCROFT, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm pleased to be joined today by the criminal division assistant attorney general, Chris Wray; the United States attorney for the southern district of New York, David Kelley; by FBI Counterintelligence Division Assistant Director David Szady; and by special agent in charge of the New York Office of the FBI National Security Division, John Locha (ph). And let me thank each of you for your efforts in this case and pursuing justice, the effort we are here to announce today.
In 1996, the United Nations implemented the Oil-for-Food program. Proceeds of sale of Iraqi oil were required to be deposited into an escrow bank account, monitored by the United Nations.
The funds were to be used only to purchase such necessities as medicine and food for the Iraqi people. The Oil-for-Food Program was designed so that innocent Iraqi people would not unduly suffer from the United Nations' sanctions lodged against the brutal Hussein regime in the aftermath of the operation known as Operation Desert Storm.
But the Hussein regime corrupted the Oil-for-Food Program, depriving the Iraqi people of food and medicine and undermining the international sanctions. The Hussein regime had accomplices in corrupting and weakening the international sanctions program that were imposed on the regime.
Today, one of those accomplices in corrupting and weakening the international sanctions program becomes the first to be convicted under the Justice Department's active and ongoing probe of fraud and abuse in the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program. This morning, in federal court, in the southern district of New York, Samir A. Vincent pled guilty to a four-count information about his activities related to the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program.
One count each of conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and acting as an unregistered agent. One count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, IEEPA, and one count of false statements in income tax returns.
The offenses charged carry a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison. Five years imprisonment on the conspiracy charge, 10 years imprisonment for acting as an unregistered foreign agent -- pardon me -- of the government of Iraq, 10 years for imprisonment for International Emergency Economic Powers Act violations, and a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment on the tax charge.
As part of the agreement, Vincent is cooperating with the United States Justice Department's investigation of corruption in the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program. The United Nations Oil-for-Food Program was to be used only for humanitarian purposes. This program followed the 1990 economic sanctions put in place by the U.N. that prohibited member states of the United Nations from, among other things, purchasing Iraqi oil and selling a wide range of goods to Iraq.
During the operation of the Oil-for-Food Program, federal law prohibited the United -- pardon me -- federal law prohibited the United States companies and individuals from executing contracts with the government of Iraq unless they received a license issued by the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Iraq began selling oil pursuant to the Oil-for-Food Program in late 1996.
Under the Oil-for-Food Program, officials at the highest levels of the Iraqi regime had the power to select the companies and individuals who received the rights to purchase Iraqi oil. These companies and individuals, many of whom were not otherwise involved in the oil industry, made large profits by selling their allocations of Iraqi oil to brokers or companies capable of transporting the oil to a refinery. From about the year 2000, up to the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March of 2003, officials of the Iraqi regime conditioned the distribution of allocations of oil on the recipients' willingness to pay to the regime, in secret, a percentage of the total amount of each oil contract sold. The Iraqi regime directed that these surcharges, which told at least -- totaled at least several hundred million dollars, be paid to front companies or bank accounts under the control of the Iraqi regime and various countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Samir Vincent, a naturalized United States citizen, was one of these individuals selected by the Iraqi regime to receive oil allocations. Between 1996 and 2003, Vincent has admitted to receiving allocations for more than nine million barrels of oil, the rights to which he sold for millions of dollars.
Vincent has admitted his ties to the Hussein regime extended beyond the period when the Oil-for-Food Program was in operation. Going back to 1992, Vincent has admitted to consulting with and repeatedly receiving direction from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. Vincent has also admitted to lobbying officials of the United States government and the United Nations to repeal sanctions against Iraq and to support the Oil-for-Food Program.
In February of 1996, Vincent traveled to Baghdad and drafted agreements with Iraqi government officials that guaranteed millions of dollars of compensation for Vincent and others if they were able to get the Oil-for-Food Program implemented. Between 1998 and 2003, Vincent lobbied former officials of the United States government who maintained close contacts to high-ranking members of both the Clinton and Bush administrations in an unsuccessful effort to persuade the United States government to support a repeal of sanctions against Iraq.
Vincent reported the results of those consultations to the Iraqi Intelligence Service and other officials of the government of Iraq. At no time did Vincent register as an agent of a foreign power with the Department of Justice.
I thank Chris Wray and the criminal division of the United States Justice Department, U.S. Attorney David Kelley for his focus and pursuit of justice in this matter, together with officials in the criminal division. I also thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI's national security division for its invaluable and ongoing efforts in this investigation. And I am grateful to them for the work that they have done and the achievement of this first conviction in the matter related to the Oil-for-Food Program.
I'd be pleased to respond to your questions or to refer them to individuals with specific awareness of these topics for their responses -- yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Do you believe that this plea agreement and the one to cooperate with the investigation is going to lead to others being charged such as Kojo Annan or anyone else? ASHCROFT: This is an ongoing matter and an ongoing investigation. And for me to comment further about it would be inappropriate at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much money do you believe that Mr. Vincent profited from all of this?
ASHCROFT: The items which I mentioned as a part of the allegations which were submitted to the court, along with the plea today, indicated that there were many millions of barrels of oil and millions of dollars involved.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what is the status of the ill-gotten gains? Is that all -- where is that going to the extent that any of it can be recovered?
ASHCROFT: I'm not in a position to comment on that.
Mr. Kelley, I don't know if you want to make remarks in that respect.
DAVID KELLEY, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: We're still dealing with those issues. Today we just took the guilty plea on Samir Vincent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since you're at the microphone, do you have any numbers as far as hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars that Mr. Vincent himself gained? And what came out of court on that today?
KELLEY: What came out of court today, I don't know. But I can tell you that Vincent -- the amount of money that Vincent got was -- both from the payments and from the allocations of oil were in the several millions of dollars. Giving estimates somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million to $5 million that he benefited directly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, what are the options? Where could that money go, that several millions of dollars?
KELLEY: That's not something we're going to comment on today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Kelley, can you just describe how your office has been working with the U.N. on this and the Volcker Commission and any other reports that the district attorney's office is also looking at, the Federal Reserve?
KELLEY: Well, we -- we obviously work very cooperatively and we always have in all our investigations with other federal agencies that would include as well the Federal Reserve. With regard to Chairman Volcker's commission, we've been in ongoing dialogue with them in an effort to both achieve our mutual goals. And I expect that the dialogue will continue.
With regard to, you know, state or local investigating agencies, that's not something I can... HARRIS: And there you have Attorney General John Ashcroft announcing the first charges and, in fact, a conviction in the U.N.- run Oil-for-Food Program. Samir Vincent, an Iraqi-American businessman, pleaded guilty to four charges, and he's also agreed to cooperate with the United States and its continuing investigation of the Oil-for-Food Program.
A lot to chew on here. Let's get more on this developing story now. We'll bring in Chris Huntington from New York.
Chris, what did you hear in the announcement from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft?
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, what is most significant about Samir Vincent, who certainly is not a household name to most Americans, is that he is very well known to many members who have been in power in the U.S. government other the years.
Samir Vincent was a very visible lobbyist on behalf of Saddam Hussein dating back to the Clinton administration. He heavily lobbied then the first Bush administration, having meetings, we are told, with members of that administration. He went on in several different guises over the past years, to, again, be very visible.
This is, of course, stated in the indictment. The fact that he was an unregistered foreign agent of Iraq and on behalf of Saddam Hussein seems to be the charges that they are -- that the Justice Department is bringing specifically. But it is no secret that Samir Vincent was an advocate for lifting the sanctions against the Iraqi government. Now, fast forward to the Oil-for-Food Program.
HARRIS: Yes.
HUNTINGTON: Again, as Kelli Arena mentioned before the press conference, one of the key features of the program is that Saddam Hussein, really, himself had the final say as to who would be able to buy oil from the program. So it's no secret and it's no surprise that he allocated those very valuable vouchers to buy oil from the program to people who were favorable to him. And, of course, Samir Vincent is one of those people, a longtime advocate for lifting sanctions against Iraq -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, and Chris, I think we're learning more about how this program was run. You didn't have to be in the oil business at all to be a part of this. You -- it seems that one of the things you need to have was some kind of ties, some kind of a relationship with the Saddam Hussein regime.
HUNTINGTON: That's pretty much it, in a nutshell. I mean, certainly most of the companies that were involved with the program had some direct ties to the oil industry. But frankly, oil is a fungible product, and you could -- you could get the vouchers, buy the oil and sell it.
Now, what we're looking at here is a list of the U.S. companies and citizens who received -- who purchased oil through the program. Topping the list is a gentleman not mentioned today, but we may hear more about him, a gentleman from Houston called -- named Oscar Wyatt, and his company, Coastal. The two top entries there combined for more oil from that program than all the other U.S. companies and citizens combined.
If we go to the second page, you'll see Samir Vincent show up a little bit further down the list with his company, Phoenix, getting, by the CIA's estimate, somewhere in the neighborhood of -- you heard the Justice Department say about nine million barrels.
HARRIS: Right.
HUNTINGTON: The CIA estimates that just on the oil purchases alone, Vincent made about $3.6 million. But we are hearing from the Justice Department, their allegations that he was paid directly by the Iraqi government, by Saddam Hussein, as an agent in the United States.
HARRIS: And Chris, let me ask you a follow-up to that. As you take a look at that list and you see Samir Vincent's name, and you know now that he has agreed to cooperate with the investigation, it sounds like that there's a possibility that Samir Vincent will be helping the authorities move up the list a bit.
HUNTINGTON: This is prosecution 101 here. They have struck a plea bargain with somebody who probably knows an awful lot about the way this program was administered. And there is no doubt that the Justice Department will be trying to put the leverage on Samir Vincent to tell the prosecutors what he knows about who else received perhaps favorable treatment and perhaps illegal treatment under that program.
HARRIS: Chris Huntington, appreciate it. Thank you -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And we have much more to come right here on LIVE FROM, including we're waiting to go back to Condoleezza Rice's Senate confirmation hearings to become secretary of state. When that happens, we'll take it live here on LIVE FROM.
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NGUYEN: Well, a lot of us dread those long flights. Not to worry, though, because they could get a lot more comfortable in the near future now that the world's largest passenger jet has been unveiled.
HARRIS: OK. Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details -- Susan.
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