Editing Oil-for-Food Programme (section)

===Investigations by Iraqi Governing Council===
International accounting firm [[KPMG]] had been selected by the Iraqi Governing Council to investigate the ''al Mada claims'', along with [[Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer]]. It was due to release its findings to the [[Iraqi Governing Council]] in May 2004. However, in June 2004, KPMG stopped working on the project because it was owed money by the IGC.<ref>{{cite web |last=Marshall |first=Josh |url=http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/003120.php |title=3120 |publisher=Talking Points Memo |date=4 July 2004 |access-date=7 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204142650/http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/003120.php |archive-date=4 February 2012 }}</ref>

The US has been harshly critical of the KPMG probe led by associates of [[Ahmed Chalabi]], accusing it of undermining the main probe established by [[Paul Bremer]]. That probe had been run by the head of Iraq's independent Board of Supreme Audit, Ehsan Karim, with assistance from [[Ernst & Young]]. The Board of Supreme Audit is within the Iraqi Finance Ministry. In June 2004, Karim's investigation agreed to share information with the Volcker panel. However, on 1 July 2004, Karim was killed by a bomb magnetically attached to his car.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3855803.stm | work=BBC News | title=Attack on Iraq ministry official | date=1 July 2004 | access-date=2010-05-20}}</ref>

Claude Hankes-Drielsma, a British national and long-time friend of Ahmed Chalabi, was appointed by the IGC to coordinate its investigation of the Oil-for-Food Programme. Drielsma testified in front of the US Congress (on 21 April 2004) that the KPMG investigation "is expected to demonstrate the clear link between those countries which were quite ready to support Saddam Hussein's regime for their own financial benefit, at the expense of the Iraqi people, and those that opposed the strict application of sanctions and the overthrow of Saddam". He also testified that Chalabi was in charge of the investigation for the IGC.

In late May 2004, on the same day that Chalabi's offices at the Iraqi National Congress were raided by coalition forces, Drielsma claimed that an individual or individuals hacked into his computer and deleted every file associated with his investigation. He also claimed that "a back-up databank" was also deleted.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/06/06/wirq06.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/06/06/ixworld.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051130113436/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/06/06/wirq06.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/06/06/ixworld.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 November 2005|title=Iraqi judge orders arrest of American aide to Chalabi|date=6 June 2004|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=2010-05-20}}</ref> When asked by Claudia Rosett if he had been physically threatened as well, Drielsma replied with "no comment". Drielsma has also been an outspoken critic of the UN's refusal to release any internal Oil-for-Food audit information to the IGC.