An Iraqi-American businessman pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegally doing business with and lobbying for Iraq for a decade, the first US criminal prosecution as a result of multiple investigations over alleged corruption in the United Nations' oil-for-food program.

Samir Vincent entered the guilty pleas to four charges in US District Court in New York, including engaging in prohibited financial transactions with Iraq, acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and making false statements on his income tax returns.

The United States has charged that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein exploited the oil-for-food program to seize an estimated 2 billion to 4 billion dollars in illegal surcharges on its oil sales and kickbacks on the humanitarian goods purchases.

"This is not a concluded investigation but an ongoing one," Attorney General John Ashcroft said while announcing the plea deal at a news conference in Washington.

Vincent was charged that he lobbied for the repealing of the international economic sanctions against Iraq but failed to register as a lobbyist as US law requires, according to court documents. He bought approximately 9 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil and profited by 3 million to 5 million dollars by reselling it.

A 64-year-old naturalized American citizen, Vincent surrendered to the FBI on Tuesday morning in New York. He faces a maximum of 28 years in prison but could get a reduced sentence for cooperation.

Editor: Olivia