Saudi and Kuwaiti Companies (with ties to GE & ITT) Paid Bribes for Contracts in Iraq; Non-commissioned Officer Ray Scott Chase Convicted

Tamimi Global Company Ltd., LaNouvelle General Trading & Contracting Corp., and other as yet unnamed companies paid $1.4 million in bribes to secure food contracts at U.S. military dining facilities in Iraq, says a non-commissioned officer who oversaw the procurements. Ray Scott Chase admitted to accepting the bribes before U.S. Magistrate Judge John A. Gorman in the Central District of Illinois. Chase faces a maximum of five years in prison for his part in the crime and will be sentenced on August 6 of this year. Founded by the late Sheikh Ali a Tamimi, Tamimi Global is a Saudi company and joint venturer with U.S. companies General Electric and ITT Federal Services, a division of ITT Corporation.  Whether GE or ITT were aware of the bribes or will be held accountable for their partner’s actions is unknown. This is not Tamimi’s first brush with bribes in Iraq — last year a high-ranking Tamini official was convicted of supplying a KBR official with prostitutes and over $100,000 in cash in exchange for multimillion government sub-contracts. KBR’s unprecedented frauds in Iraq are well-publicized and have been repeatedly reported by FraudBlawg.  LaNouvelle is a Kuwaiti company with no readily apparent ties to U.S. companies.

To report defense contracting fraud, contact Frohsin & Barger.