Oil-for-Food: It's all relative

CFP ^ | January 7, 2005 | Judi McLeod

[MikeEdwards]

Archie Bunker’s immortalized role in television’s All in the Family takes a backseat to the role family ties play in the United Nations Oil-for-Food brouhaha.

A gem laid out in Paul Volcker’s tabled Interim Report: Director of the discredited Oil-for-Food Program Benon Sevan, helped steer oil contracts to a relative of former UN Secretary General Boutros-Boutros Ghali.

The relative is Ghali’s son, with whom Sevan was in business. And then there’s Sevan’s Panamanian bank account with Boutros Ghali.

Ghali was head honcho at the UN in 1966 when Oil-for-Food got underway. He’s also the guy who chose the Banque Nationale de Paris, now known as BNP Paribas, to handle the program’s account.

With documented connections to BNP Paribas is the Montreal-based Power Corp, which lists three BNP Paribas members on its International Advisory Council. They are: Michel Francoise-Poncet, Andre Levy-Lang and Pierre Haas.

Volcker himself gets paid to attend Power Corp.’s International Advisory Council meetings.

His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, on Power Corp.’s International Advisory Council, brings us to UN All in the Family, Chapter Two.

Sheik Yamani’s son, Hani hangs out with Kojo, son of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and is in business with him.

Volcker, who says he won’t get around to tabling his final report until bees are buzzing in June, might file another interim report to deal with the alleged role of Annan’s son in Oil-for-Food. . . . .

[lmr]

Shine the flashlight into the dark corners in the UN and watch the roaches scatter.