Minutes of the meeting held at the World Bank Offices in Paris, France on 20-22 June 2004

Minutes of the meeting held at the World Bank Offices in Paris, France on 20-22 June 2004. World Bank: Mr. Fayezul Choudhury, Vice-President and Controller Observer: Dr. Mehdi Hafedh, Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation (Iraq) Observer: Prof. Mahdi Hadi Al-Kafaji (Iraq) Observer's Representative: Mr. Cameron Leuthy (Coalition Provisional Authority) Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development: Mr. Shehab Bayoumi, Financial Advisor Ms. Mary Hoare, Accountant, Finance Department Mr. Jayantilal Karia, Director, Accounts Division Mr. Charles McDonough, Director, Accounting Department Mr. Hadi Abudshakra, Lead Counsel, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia Iraq Board of Supreme Audit: Mr. Ishan Ghanim, President, Iraq Board of Supreme Audit The Chairman welcomed the Iraqi observer Dr. Mehdi Hafedh, Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation and stated that the IAMB looked forward to having an Iraqi as a full member of the IAMB. In his address, Dr. Hafedh welcomed the inclusion of an Iraqi member on the IAMB and confirmed their commitment to cooperate fully with the IAMB. A representative from KPMG briefed the IAMB on the on-going audit of the DFI. He indicated that the audit of the first period ended 31 December 2003 was largely complete, and that the final audit report would be presented prior to the next IAMB meeting to be held on July 14 - 15. The IAMB resolved to ensure that the audit reports and its comments thereon be made public. KPMG indicated that they had continued to encounter difficulties obtaining information from the CPA to complete their audit. Responses to queries were sometimes slow, requiring frequent follow-up, and there seemed to be a high turnover of key CPA personnel. The representative from the CPA explained that the provision of information required coordination with various ministries and gave rise to transportation and security issues related to movement of KPMG staff to various areas, all of which cannot always be arranged in a timely manner. KPMG reiterated its commitment to adhere to the time-line as stated in the Statement of Work. KPMG also briefed the IAMB on other issues concerning the audit of the export sales such as smuggling, barter transactions of export sales of petroleum and petroleum products and the payments to the compensation commission. The invitee from the Iraqi Board of Supreme Audit asked whether the frozen assets (including those from the neighboring countries) were covered in the audit. KPMG indicated that only the frozen assets in the DFI would be covered. Noting the need to address any outstanding issues expeditiously, the IAMB requested KPMG to keep the IAMB informed on the progress of the audit and to ensure that the final report of the auditors is ready for review and discussion at the next IAMB meeting. Briefing by the CPA As a follow up to the May 24 -25 briefing provided to the IAMB, the CPA provided an update on the latest DFI activities. The CPA briefed the members on the status of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). The draft report on the audit of SOMO would be provided to the IAMB as soon it was finalized. The IAMB regretted the delay in the finalization of this report and urged the CPA to press for prompt finalization of these audit reports. The IAMB was advised that the oil metering contract, which had initially been reported as having been awarded as a Task Order of an existing contract, had not been concluded due to security and technical issues. The IAMB was informed by the CPA that funds have, however, been set aside for the metering project. The IAMB noted with regret that contrary to the information it had been provided by the CPA at its previous meeting, the project for the installation of meters had been delayed and urged that it proceed without further delay on this critical issue. Responding to earlier requests by the IAMB to obtain audit reports regarding sole sourced contracts, including those by the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the CPA advised that these reports were still not available. The IAMB regretted the delay in obtaining these reports, which could have lessened the need for further audits. It was decided that a special audit to determine the extent of sole sourced contracts be commissioned. In this respect, the IAMB requested the CPA representative to take urgent action on issuing the request for proposal based on the scope of work already provided by the IAMB to the CPA. Post June 30 2004 The IAMB discussed its work following the adoption of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1546. In light of the new requirements in the resolution, the IAMB agreed that it would need to amend its terms of reference. It is expected that the revised terms of reference will be finalized expeditiously. The IAMB also decided to write to the Iraqi Government, requesting it to designate a full voting member as stipulated in UNSCR 1546 (2004). The CPA briefed the IAMB on the preparations for the anticipated hand-over of the DFI and its operations. The IAMB decided to request the CPA to designate an official to act as counterpart to the IAMB in connection with the finalization of the ongoing audits of the DFI activities for the period up to 30 June 2004 and to advise the CPA of the necessity to preserve all records in order to enable the auditors to successfully conclude their work. The Iraqi observers reiterated the need for the international community to ensure that the immunity on the DFI will continue to apply after the hand over. The members agreed to issue a press release highlighting the results of this meeting and to post this press release on the IAMB website. The next meeting of the IAMB has been scheduled for 14-15 July, to be hosted by the International Monetary Fund.