A senior Treasury official has told Reuters that so far the Iraqis have been unable to trace loan agreements, particularly those made with Arab states that were originally claimed as grant aid.

E&Y, which recently said it plans to re-open its Baghdad office, will have the task of sorting out the country's mix up between public and private debt largely without a paper trail.

Iraq, which is the world's most indebted country per head of population, is waiting for an April presentation from the International Monetary Fund on its final debt figures, which will then form the basis for eventual debt reduction.