A U.S. House of Representatives committee says the U.S. embassy inAlbania approved action to conceal the illegal Chinese origins ofammunition being shipped by a U.S. contractor from Albania toAfghanistan.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State CondoleezzaRice, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said it hasinformation that the U.S. ambassador to Albania, John Withers, agreedlast year to the removal of all evidence of Chinese packaging from anammunition storage site, ahead of a visit by a reporter.The letter says the decision was made during a late-night meeting withAlbania's Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu.
The committee isholding a hearing Tuesday on allegations surrounding the arms dealer inquestion, AEY, Incorporated, including questions about its $300million contract with U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
At the time of the alleged cover-up, AEY was under investigation for illegal arms trafficking in Chinese ammunition.
Last week, the U.S. Justice Department indicted AEY and its top officials on 71 counts of fraud and related charges.
Last March, the U.S. defense department suspended AEY from future government defense work.
U.S. law prohibits the acquisition of ammunition that was made in China.
DuringTuesday's hearing, the oversight committee's chairman Henry Waxman saidthe AEY contract shows the Defense Department's procurement processis dysfunctional, citing the failure of officials to check the dealer'spoor track record.