Ziyad Cattan is a dual citizen of Poland and Iraq.
According to an article published in The Independent, on September 19, 2005, Hazim al-Shaalan, Defense Minister of Iyad Allawi's interim administration, appointed Ziyad Cattan, as the Defence Ministry's procurement chief.
The Independent article describes massive fraud in the Defense Ministry's procurement, which it describes as "the greatest theft in history", which occurred under Cattan's watch. Of expenditures of between $1 and $2 billion the article estimates only $200 million worth of usable equipment was purchased.
Cattan and his former boss al-Shaalan, are both living in Jordan, and refusing comment.