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Scandal at the UN

(New York Times) William Safire - The cover-up in the office of the UN secretary general of a multibillion-dollar financial fraud known as the Iraqi oil-for-food program is beginning to come apart. Journalist Claudia Rosett charged that the UN's secretive oversight of more than $100 billion in Iraqi oil exports and supposed humanitarian imports was "an invitation to kickbacks, political back-scratching, and smuggling done under cover of relief operations." The whole rotten mess of 10% kickbacks on billions in contracts is coming to light. Under the UN bureaucracy's nose nearly 3/4 of the suppliers jacked up their prices to pay the kickback, including European manufacturers, Arab trade brokers, Russian factories, and Chinese state-owned companies. Corruption's take - out of the mouths of hungry Iraqi children - was estimated at $2.3 billion. Hired by the UN to monitor these imports was a Swiss-based firm, Cotecna, which was paid out of the exorbitant fee the UN charged for overhead. Kojo Annan, the secretary general's son, was once on staff and later a consultant to that tight-lipped company.
2004-03-17 00:00:00
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