New York The Iraqi Government is suing dozens of companies for $10 billion (£5 billion) after they allegedly defrauded the country’s citizens out of food and medical provisions during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Iraq has hired Maney and Purrington, a law firm from Texas, to sue 70 corporations such as Chevron, the oil company, GlaxoSmithKline, the drugs group, and BNP Paribas, the French bank, for allegedly paying bribes to the dictator to secure business contracts under the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme. The programme was intended to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food and medicine for ordinary Iraqis.

The civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan, is seeking damages from companies that have already been investigated by the UN. BNP Paribas failed to return calls yesterday. Glaxo declined to comment. Chevron said that it had resolved all ongoing government reviews into transactions occurring between 1997 and 2003 under the Oil-for-Food Programme.

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