The investigation of a firm on the fifteenth floor of Laila Tower was brought forth after a suicide of a United States Army major. This is part of the 83 criminal investigations launched by both the U.S. military and U.S. Federal prosecutors with contract fraud and millions of dollars in bribes. The firm run by George H. Lee and his family is part of that web of fraud and bribery.
While the Lee family is suspended by the Army from doing business with the government, they have not been charged with any crime. The order was upheld in August by a Federal judge in the court in Huntsville, Alabama. The military investigation of the Lee family continues.
In the case, a former Army supply clerk from Pennsylvania had provided insight on how fraud could occur. One way was to exploit the chaos erupting in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is said that bribery and kickbacks are very common when it comes to big projects. But they do not call them bribes. Instead, they call them “gifts.”
So far, the biggest bribery case at the moment revolves around Major John Cockerham, his wife, and his sister. All three have been charged in the U.S. federal court for receiving over nine-million dollars in bribes from companies. These companies were seeking to provide bottled water and other supplies.
The fraud and bribery in Iraq stems from numerous factors.