Iraq's Oil

For the first time in the country's history, Iraqis have the opportunity to monitor the bulk of their oil revenues and to hold the government to account. The DFI has not stopped abuses but it has made it possible to identify sources of abuse.

This was illustrated in a damning report released by the US's Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction in July, which said that the US defence department was unable to account for $8.7bn (£5.6bn) of the $9.1bn in DFI funds it received for reconstruction activities in Iraq, blaming weaknesses in the defence department's financial and management controls as the primary cause. Full details here.