THE GULF WAR : Black Market Crackdown

Iraq, in an apparent crackdown on the black market, has announced the following decrees on Baghdad Radio:

“Any employee, or person with a public service, or supplier of a fuel station who has abused his office . . . (to) obtain or seize amounts of fuel for personal use or for trade purposes . . . would be liable to a prison sentence of between two and three years and a fine of up to 3,000 dinars ($9,000).” The decree also laid down a prison term of three to five years and a fine of up to 5,000 dinars, or $15,000, “if the crime was committed with violence or threats.”