Wife of disgraced US contractor arrested in Germany

BERLIN – The wife of an American contractor accused of cheating the US government in Iraq has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of money laundering, a prosecutor said yesterday.

Jacqueline Battles was detained after a German bank informed authorities about “suspicious transactions” on her accounts two months ago, prosecutor David Kirkpatrick told The Associated Press. German investigators seized about US$1 million in suspect funds from the accounts, said Kirkpatrick, a prosecutor in the west German city of Darmstadt.”She is in investigative custody,” Kirkpatrick said in a telephone interview.The woman, who lives near Darmstadt, has not been formally charged.In March, a US jury ordered contractors Mike Battles and Scott Custer to pay US$10 million for swindling the US government over Iraqi rebuilding projects.However, a federal judge overturned the verdict in July, saying any fraud was against the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq rather than the US government, even though American taxpayers ultimately footed the bill.According to a letter provided recently to AP, Jacqueline Battles is suspected of moving at least US$2 million into overseas accounts to hide her husband’s money.Nampa-APGerman investigators seized about US$1 million in suspect funds from the accounts, said Kirkpatrick, a prosecutor in the west German city of Darmstadt.”She is in investigative custody,” Kirkpatrick said in a telephone interview.The woman, who lives near Darmstadt, has not been formally charged.In March, a US jury ordered contractors Mike Battles and Scott Custer to pay US$10 million for swindling the US government over Iraqi rebuilding projects.However, a federal judge overturned the verdict in July, saying any fraud was against the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq rather than the US government, even though American taxpayers ultimately footed the bill.According to a letter provided recently to AP, Jacqueline Battles is suspected of moving at least US$2 million into overseas accounts to hide her husband’s money.Nampa-AP