US military company gets $ 88 million from Iraq .. by court order

US military company gets $ 88 million from Iraq .. by court order



28/08/2019 - 22:44

A military contractor whose boss in Iraq was mysteriously killed 15 years ago has received a $ 88 million compensation from Iraq plus interest and lawyers' fees in return for unpaid dues.

The verdict, announced by a federal judge in Washington on Tuesday, unveils a nine-year legal battle between US-based Way Oak Technology, a Pennsylvania-based company, and the Republic of Iraq.

Wye Oak says its president, Dale Stovel, was killed in Iraq in December 2004, after complaining that his company had received no more than $ 20 million due to repair tanks to help the Iraqi army stand on its feet after the 2003 invasion.

A terrorist group claimed responsibility for Stoffel's killing, but witnesses said during the trial that he had already been killed, to avoid paying the company.

Iraq has made a number of defenses, all of which had previously been rejected by a 107-page court decision issued by US District Court Judge Royce Lamberth stating that the Iraqi Defense Ministry had breached its agreement with Wye Oak Technology and had not paid its wages.

Judge Lamberth wrote in his ruling that the money that was supposed to go to Way Oak had never been paid. The company's director, Stoffel, turned to the US government for help. At a meeting in December 2004, US officials received pledges from the Iraqi Defense Ministry to pay Stoffel and Wye Oak.

Three days later Stoffel was killed along with his companions on their way to Baghdad to complete the payment. Judge Lamberth wrote on the sidelines that he could not say exactly who killed Stoffel and his companion, Joey Wembel, with whom he worked for the company. However, the judge noted that Stoffel would not have been on his way to Baghdad and would have been killed had his dues been duly paid by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.

"Stoffel could have survived to this day had the Iraqi Ministry of Defense not broken the terms of the contract," the judge said.

The judge awarded $ 89 million to the contracting director, plus the benefits and wages of Wye Oak's lawyers, which are expected to reach $ 140 million. Del Stovel, who founded an investment company to contract in the field of weapons, especially dealing with Russian weapons used by the Iraqi army at the time, and won an early contract after the 2003 war in Iraq to save and renew Iraqi army tanks.

Former US general David Petraeus, who was one of the top US military commanders in Iraq, testified as a witness last year by saying Stoffel was a key part of the effort to help enable the Iraqi army to regain strength. Petraeus said Stoffel had accompanied him several times while traveling by helicopter in Iraq.

"The performance of Way Oak was good and efficient. I think the problem was that the Iraqis did not pay their dues. It is an issue that deserves attention and I have repeatedly followed up with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.

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