BBC: Annan in new oil-for-food probe ~~ Evening update

BBC ^ | : Wednesday, 15 June, 2005, 03:02 GMT 04:02 UK | staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Annan in new oil-for-food probe

Mr Annan said he could not recall the alleged exchange

The Iraq oil-for-food inquiry says it is "urgently reviewing" new material on the UN secretary-general's alleged ties to a firm monitoring the programme.

A memo by Swiss firm Cotecna published this week describes a meeting between Kofi Annan and its executives in 1998, weeks before the contract was awarded.

Mr Annan has denied prior knowledge of Cotecna's bid for the contract, though his son worked there as a consultant.

A previous inquiry report found that the UN head had not helped Cotecna.

However, Mr Annan was criticised for failing to look into the possibility of a conflict of interest.

And his son Kojo was found to have "intentionally deceived" his father about his financial relationship with the company.

'Collective advice'

The inquiry committee said in a statement it would "conduct additional investigation regarding this new information".

The December 1998 memo by Michael Wilson, at the time a senior Cotecna executive, mentions brief discussions with Mr Annan and his "entourage" during a summit in Paris the previous month.

The memo, published by the New York Times and later confirmed as authentic by Cotecna, was apparently found three weeks ago during a search of the Geneva-based company's archives.

It said that the UN officials gave "collective advice" to the company that "we could count on their support".

But a Cotecna consultant told the newspaper no senior company officials had any recollection of the memo and that it appeared to contradict what the company had said.

UN spokesman Fred Eckhard, meanwhile, said he could not confirm that the meeting took place.

"We spoke to the secretary-general who is in Paris today, and he has no recollection of any such exchange," he told AP news agency.

Any information would be sent exclusively to the inquiry committee's chairman, Paul Volcker, he said.

The final version of the inquiry's report is due out in the next few months.

[martin_fierro]

brief discussions with Mr Annan and his "entourage"

[Darkwolf377]

Nice pick, but I don't wanna know whose hand is up Koffi's butt working him, okay?

[SevenofNine]

OMG rack it Ernest

Paging Fox news Jonathn Smith LOL!

[Darkwolf377]

You gotta give it up for the Kofe, he gives the best "I can't believe you're accusing me" look of ANYONE in politics.

[martin_fierro]

I don't wanna know whose hand is up Koffi's butt working him, okay?

Around the U.N.'s corridors, Annan was privately referred to as "Clinton's boy."

I'll spare you the visual.

[Darkwolf377]

"Clinton's boy"? Which Clinton? Far as I can tell, neither of them likes boys. :)

[Happy2BMe]

Kofi just can't seem to escape these little demons . .

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

AP report has some more detail:

AP: Memo Suggests Oil-For-Food Link to Annan ~~ Evening Update

[Brian Allen]

<< Nice pick, but I don't wanna know whose hand is up Koffi's butt working him, okay? >>

That's an easy one. These jokers have their hand up the butt of every American enemy: www.socialistinternational.org

[Brian Allen]

http://www.socialistinternational.org

[Lijahsbubbe]

Normie Coleman said Koffi would lose his job.

Can't wait to see it.

[ExSoldier]

There have been rumors for weeks that Kofi is thinking of resigning a bit early and retiring to AFRICA. If this happens I'd bet on Bill Clinton becoming the next secretary general of the UN.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I would hate to see that happen!

[Lijahsbubbe]

And with Hilary as Pres we'd all be doomed.

[ExSoldier]

Just to show you how twisted my subconscious has become I keep having this dream that the American people finally WAKE UP and toss the UN off our soil and then we withdraw. So where (in my dream) does the UN relocate to? Try VATICAN CITY. Remember the Bible? The anti-Christ shall rise from Rome.......

[KeyWest]

"I cannot recall."

Where have I heard that before?

[Grampa Dave]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1417229/posts

Saddam's Aides: Singing 'Like a Canary'(Newsweak)
msnbc - newsweek ^ | June 13 2005 | -Mark Hosenball


Posted on 06/05/2005 9:40:25 PM PDT by Deetes


June 13 issue - Some of Saddam Hussein's most notorious former lieutenants have been dishing dirt. Senate investigators looking into prewar U.N. Oil-for-Food deals have named Saddam's former personal secretary and security chief, Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti, former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan and former foreign minister Tariq Aziz as key witnesses who have provided inside info about Saddam's regime.

Senate staffers traveled to Baghdad earlier this year to interview Iraqi officials, and their reports are among the first official accounts of what captured Iraqi leaders are saying. "In interview after interview, the officials were generally forthcoming and quite proud—even boastful—of their creativity in undermining U.N. sanctions," says Sen. Norm Coleman, who leads one of several congressional probes into Saddam-era oil deals. According to Senate documents, Ramadan is one of the most talkative captives, supplying pithy quotes about how Saddam allegedly manipulated the prewar oil program to buy support from influential foreigners. Senate investigators quote Ramadan saying that Saddam's regime gave foreigners oil allocations—which could be cashed in for lucrative brokerage fees—as "compensation for support." Al-Tikriti told investigators the former Iraqi leader and his aides "were all extremists" on the issue of oil sales to Israel. If they found an Iraqi oil buyer was selling to Israel, they would "not allow it," al-Tikriti said