19 June 2004	Saturday	30 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

NEW YORK, June 18: Exxon Mobil Corp has received a subpoena from a federal prosecutor regarding the UN-run oil-for-food programme in Iraq, the world's No 1 publicly-traded oil company said on Friday.

The office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on whether it has opened a probe of the programme. The US Congress, the Iraqi government and the United Nations are already looking into allegations of corruption in the programme.

A spokeswoman for Exxon in Fairfax, Virginia, said the subpoena requested documents related to the oil-for-food programme. "We are responding appropriately," she said.

She had no further comment. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein last year, documents have been released that indicate bribes and kickbacks were paid to individuals and contracts were skimmed in the now-defunct $67 billion oil-for-food programme.

The programme began in Dec 1996 and was meant to ease the impact of 1991 sanctions on Iraqis. The programme allowed Iraq to sell oil and buy humanitarian goods under UN supervision. -Reuters