JURIST - Paper Chase: American faces bribery charges in Iraqi reconstruction

[JURIST] An American businessman has been charged with paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to US authorities in charge of the reconstruction in Iraq to obtain millions in contracts, the New York Times reported [NYT report] Thursday. According to the criminal complaint, which was unsealed Wednesday, Philip H. Bloom used bribes to win $3.5 million in contracts for three construction companies he operated in Iraq during the reconstruction effort. Two Coalition Provisional Authority [official website] officials and their spouses were named as co-conspirators in the complaint for accepting the alleged bribes from Bloom. One of the officials was reportedly the comptroller and financing officer of the CPA south central region of Iraq. According to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction [official website], charges against others for crimes committed during the period following the US invasion of Iraq are likely forthcoming. AP has more.

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