Annan Pledges to Get to Truth in Oil-For-Food Scandal

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 2/4/05 | Reuters

[NormsRevenge]

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) pledged Friday to get to the bottom of any wrongdoing by the United Nations (news - web sites) in the Iraq (news - web sites) oil-for-food scandal.

"We are as determined as everyone to get to the bottom of this. We do not want this shadow to hang over the U.N.," Annan told reporters as he arrived at headquarters.

"So we want to get to the bottom of it, get to the truth and take appropriate measures to deal with the gaps," he said.

An independent inquiry named by Annan to look into the $69 billion program, which was shut down in 2003 a few months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, issued an interim report on Thursday that found lax U.N. controls, a shortage of audit staff and political favoritism when the program was put in place in 1996.

It found no pilfering of money from the U.N. administration of the program.

But Volcker said the program's director, Benon Sevan, engaged in a "grave conflict of interest" by soliciting oil allocations for a small trading firm run by relatives of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the U.N. secretary-general from 1991 to 1996. Volcker is investigating whether Sevan received a kickback for his efforts, as Iraqis have alleged.

"Obviously there were some hard knocks in the report and we are concerned about it," Annan said. "This is why we intend to take action promptly."

Annan intends to take disciplinary action against Sevan and Joseph Stephanides, who now heads Security Council affairs and was accused in Volcker's report of interfering in contracts without competitive bidding in 1996. He said he was consulting lawyers on how to do this.

He said diplomatic immunity would be lifted if there were charges of criminal acts, and he said the United Nations would right financial controls and accounting procedures and more reforms would follow.

[Rippin]

Now, there are a lot of other questions that are, I think, very legitimate. You have a right to ask them; you and the American people have a right to get answers. We are working very hard to comply and get all the requests for information up here, and we will give you as many answers as we can, as soon as we can, at the appropriate time, consistent with our obligation to also cooperate with the investigations.

And that's not a dodge, that's really why I've – I've talked with our people. I want to do that. I'd like for you to have more rather than less, sooner rather than later. So we'll work through it as quickly as we can and get all those questions out there to you.

[Moonman62]

Read that: I am going to roadblock the investigation at every turn with the last resort being trying to bribe the investigators.

He already gave Volcker and extra $30 million to "help" with the "investigation."

[tcostell]

Annan Pledges to Get to Truth in Oil-For-Food Scandal

No matter how many members of his family he needs to question.

[TChris]

In related news, the fox pledged to find the real culprit responsible for the mysterious disappearance of half the chickens under his care. Mr. Fox said he was "shocked, SHOCKED that someone or something could perpetrate such a heinous crime."

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

"We are as determined as everyone to get to the bottom of this. We do not want this shadow to hang over the U.N.," Annan told reporters as he arrived at headquarters. "We are bringing in an independent, tough-as-armadillos-on-a-hot-tin-roof investigative reporter to get to the bottom of this kerfluffle"



What's the frequency, Kofi?

[Libertarian444]

Annan Pledges to Get to Truth in Oil-For-Food Scandal

Yeah. Right. Whatever.

[HMFIC]

(cough) BULLSQUEEZE (cough)

[bray]

UNron will investigate itself. Okie Dokie with the Stone Age Presstitutes!! Imagine if Haliburtan was missing 50 billion US dollars!!

Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighting Troops

[oolatec]

Something just doesn't feel right anymore about this, in light of Volcker's very own conflict of interest with the UN... it seems to me like he is going to lower the boom on Sevon, and let Koffi off the hook... anyone feelin' me on this as well?

[ApesForEvolution]

Iraq Freed Politically and Pray it will be Freed Spiritually

...

Amen.

[oolatec]

Er, um... Sevan... :)

[Lee Heggy]

"So we want to get to the bottom of it, get to the truth and take appropriate measures to deal with the gaps,"

I thought it was about 'oil for food' not oil for clothes.

[forYourChildrenVote4Bush]

Anus should GULP down some Antibiotics....

That is how you get ride of Bacteria...

[FreedomSurge]

Round up all the usual suspects!

[Sloth]

In other news, O. J. Simpson is still hot on the trail of The Real Killers.

[NRA1995]

Ha! The proverbial fox overseeing the hen house

[malia]

The true reason clinton has been called in.

[JustAnotherOkie]

He should GIVE the truth. He has already GOTTEN it.

[malia]

How can tghey spend 30 mil on this investigation.

[JesseJane]

Marc Rich, your phone is ringing....my, look there, Bill and Hill is on Speed Dial. 1 if by Hook, 2 if by Crook.