'Billions of secret Fed fund lost in Iraq' Over USD 40 billion in cash was secretly shipped from the US to fund the war in Iraq. (File photo) Investigation continues to track tens of billions of dollars in cash that the New York Federal Reserve has sent to Iraq since the beginning of the US-led invasion of the country.

From 2003 to 2008, over USD 40 billion in cash was secretly shipped to Iraq from the New York Federal Reserve compound in New Jersey to pay for "reconstruction and resumption of governmental services," antiwar.com reported.

The money was taken from New Jersey to Andrews Air Force Base outside of Washington, where it was flown by military aircraft to Baghdad's International Airport.

However, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) official in Baghdad who arranged for the money to be handed to the Central Bank of Iraq was the last to see the bulk of cash before it was transferred to the central bank.

What happened to the money still remains a mystery despite years of investigation, Congressional hearings and official inquiries from Washington to Baghdad.

"Likely destinations of the stolen fiat, secretly printed out of thin air to fund the US government's illegal war and occupation in Iraq, went towards intricate contracting schemes, corrupt Iraqi and American officials, and brash, blanket appropriations in war torn Iraq," Antiwar wrote on its website.

The flow of money between the Iraqi government and central bank and the New York Federal Reserve still reportedly continues, but in smaller amounts, the report added.

The report notes how at the beginning of the Iraq war, the US government secretly ordered the New York Federal Reserve to create money in order to covertly fund the war in Iraq.

American taxpayers and Congress were not informed on the mandate, while the total amount and the beneficiaries involved remain unknown.

"We don't have access to the Federal Reserve account to know how much money actually came out of the Fed," said Jason Veneer an investigating special inspector general's chief auditor. "They won't tell us," he added.

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