A familiar name turns up in connection to the Oil-for-Food scandal: Americans’ Role Eyed in U.N. Oil Scandal. (Hat tip: Legalbgl.)

Dec. 1, 2004 —Former American fugitive Marc Rich was a middleman for several of Iraq’s suspect oil deals in February 2001, just one month after his pardon from President Clinton, according to oil industry shipping records obtained by ABC News.

And a U.S. criminal investigation is looking into whether Rich, as well as several other prominent oil traders, made illegal payments to Iraq in order to obtain the lucrative oil contracts.

“Without that kind of middleman, the system would not work because the major oil companies did not want to deal with Iraq because there was a mandated kickback,” said human rights investigator John Fawcett.

Another broker was New York oil trader Ben Pollner, head of Taurus Oil, who investigators say handled several billion dollars worth of the transactions now under investigation.

Pollner told ABC News he paid no bribes or kickbacks to the Iraqi regime.

Rich is still living in Switzerland and unavailable for comment.