Iraqi investigators have uncovered more cases of widespread fraud and waste. At issue are more than $1 billion worth of weapons deals arranged by middlemen who allegedly reneged or took huge kickbacks on contracts to arm Iraq’s fledgling military. This according to a confidential report obtained by the Knight-Ridder news service. According to the agency, the report by the Iraqi Board of Supreme Audit describes transactions suggesting that senior U.S.-appointed Iraqi officials in the Defense Ministry used three intermediary companies to hide the kickbacks they received from contracts involving unnecessary, overpriced or outdated equipment. Last month it emerged that $300 million in defense funds had been lost. But the new report indicates that the audit board uncovered a much larger scandal, with losses likely to exceed half a million dollars. Last week, the Iraqi Defense Minister confirmed most of the audit board report’s findings, saying that at least $500 million in Iraqi money essentially has disappeared. Many of the figures believed to be involved in the alleged corruption were appointed by the US occupation authority, formerly known as the Coalition Provisional Authority.