Influential Tory MP Alan Duncan has become embroiled in a criminal investigation over an allegedly illegal multi-million-pound oil deal in which he sold contaminated Kuwaiti oil to Pakistan after the Gulf War, according to the Observer.
The paper said Sunday that the Pakistani government was probing a huge oil shipment in 1993, when British firm Vitol sold 280,000 tonnes of 'contaminated' oil to the country's state-owned power company.
The fuel is alleged to have caused millions of pounds worth of damage to power stations.
Pakistan's prosecutor-general, Raja Bashir, is investigating claims that the fuel was contaminated Kuwaiti oil salvaged from the Saudi Arabian desert after the Gulf War.
The Iraqi army blew up Kuwait's oil wells as it retreated back to Iraq at the end of the war, resulting in huge amounts of fuel spilling into the sea and desert.
The shipment was contaminated with sand and salt, and caused damage to Pakistan’s power plants.
Duncan, described by the newspaper as “a shadow industry spokesman” and former party vice chairman, was a consultant to Vitol at the time and dealt principally with its operations in Pakistan.
Duncan denies involvement in the oil shipment that is the subject of the inquiry, said the paper – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
