Posted on 01/16/2007 9:58:42 AM PST by SmithL
The former United Nations oil-for-food chief was charged Tuesday with bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in the scandal-tainted humanitarian program.
The charges against Benon Sevan, 69, of Nicosia, Cyprus, were contained in a rewrite of an indictment stemming from the scandal over the operation set up from 1996 to 2003 to permit the Iraqi government to sell oil primarily to buy food and medicine for suffering Iraqis.
The program was designed to help Iraqis cope with U.N. sanctions, but authorities said it was corrupted by bureaucrats, oil tycoons and Saddam Hussein after the former Iraqi leader was allowed to choose the buyers of Iraqi oil and the sellers of humanitarian goods.
Sevan, who had worked for the U.N. for 40 years, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Federal and state prosecutors also announced the indictment of Ephraim Nadler, 79, of Manhattan, on the same charges. He helped a coconspirator obtain the right to buy Iraqi oil under the program in exchange for commissions from the oil sales and then funneled approximately $160,000 of these oil commissions to Sevan, the indictment said. Nadler is the brother-in-law of former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
The name of Nadler's attorney was not immediately available.
U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said the United States has lodged warrants for the arrest of both men with Interpol and will seek their arrest and extradition to the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
This story has been deep-sixed by the MSM.
Now we know who Kofi Annan had planned to be thrown under the bus.
The annan family should be behind bars for this.
I hope Kofi and his son are next. Wishful thinking...
I'm shocked....shocked that that sort of thing was going on with the UN.
And what about Kofo Anan? When will he be in irons?
Got to be more to it than $160,000; who would risk a high-flyer career for that ?
Sounds like the USA should get a good portion of this guy's fine.
The primary witness was hung a month ago. Everybody is going to be dead of old age before this case is resolved.
So explain to me again how the john 'effin / jim webb
types' strategy of having us TALK to our enemies instead
of CONFRONTING them works when the fix is in?
money wise, the biggest scandal ever!
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