Russia denies taking oil-related bribes from Saddam Hussein

Those who argue that practically all major Russian oil companies operating in Iraq received bribes from Saddam Hussein are completely ignorant of how Iraqi oil used to be exported at that time, the information and press department of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced commenting on related media reports. Unless it is for the purpose of deliberate disinformation, the department added.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement, Iraqi oil exports were under the UN Oil-for-Food humanitarian program. It was the UN that established a mechanism of overseeing the implementation of oil contracts that used to be approved by independent UN inspectors, and not by Iraqis. Moreover, it was a UN special account that all oil payments used to go through.