MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — The Liberian government awarded about $8 billion in contracts to multinational companies without following its own laws, according to a draft of a new audit that reviewed dozens of deals.

Critics say the way the government granted concessions for timber, mining and oil exploration has allowed the companies to benefit at the expense of the West African nation still recovering from civil war a decade later. It was not immediately clear how those contracts the audit found to be improper might be affected.