[JURIST] American and British officials have rejected assertions made by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that the US and UK governments share blame with the UN for oil scandals involving Saddam Hussein's regime. Speaking in New York late this week [Reuters report] Annan said that most of the money illegally pocketed by Hussein came from smuggling operations outside of the oil-for-food program [JURIST new archive] and implied that the US and British governments may have turned a blind eye because of their alliances with Turkey and Jordan, two countries Annan claims were involved. Annan's comments come after US prosecutors charged three people [JURIST report] Thursday with an elaborate scheme to pay Hussein's regime millions in kickbacks out of oil-for-food funds meant to purchase relief supplies for Iraqis. AFP has more.