NEW YORK, Jan 18: The US Justice Department on Tuesday charged an Iraqi-American man with conspiracy, violating economic sanctions and other charges in connection with corruption in the UN oil-for-food programme for Iraq , according to court documents.

Samir Vincent, a naturalized American citizen, pleaded guilty to four charges as part of a plea deal with the government, which is investigating whether US laws were violated in the $64 billion programme.

According to documents filed in the US district court in New York, Mr Vincent agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy, violating economic sanctions, acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and income tax violations.

Mr Vincent, who surrendered to the FBI on Tuesday morning in New York, faces a maximum of 28 years in prison. He also agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation by the US Justice Department into corruption in the oil-for-food programme. The plea agreement represented the first case brought as part of the government's investigation into the scandal.