UN purges Iraq documents with $15-bn in question

Mineweb ^ | April 28, 2003 | Tim Wood

[Cicero]

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>UN purges Iraq documents with $15-bn in question

By: Tim Wood

Posted: 2003/04/28 Mon 11:00 EDT  | © Mineweb 1997-2003

NEW YORK -- Increasing attention has been focused on the United Nations administered oil-for-food programme that was intended to provide the people of Iraq with medicine and food, but deprive its power elite of any spoils until it complied with disarmament requirements. The reverse has occurred.

Several writers, notably Claudia Rosett and William Safire in the NY Times, have already documented the lack of transparency, secret audits and penchant for non-humanitarian spending that characterizes the programme. Now, as scrutiny mounts, every effort is being made to ensure the truth is never revealed.

Well placed sources tell Mineweb that sensitive records and correspondence related to the oil-for-food programme have been purged from the computer system at UN headquarters in New York. For detail of the sums involved, see the table at the end of this article.

Mineweb’s sources dismiss assurances by oil-for-food programme director, Benon Sevan, that current audits are sufficient. “These audits are sometimes used to cover-up real problems in programmes such as the UN’s Chief Resident Auditor in the Congo who was removed and his audit blocked when it alleged possible fraud involving communications equipment procured for that mission,” the source said.

The shenanigans in the Congo, instead of being dealt with in the customary manner of an audit, were turned around so that the auditor was threatened with a recall over his reports exposing the fraudulent nature of the Peace Keeping Mission’s air services contract in the Congo. This issue only came to light when the ACABQ jumped into the fray and issued its report A/56/845 to the General Assembly. Our source adds: “The UN’s legislative bodies would never have come to know about the apparent fraud and Benon Sevan hints at this modus operandi when he notes that audit reports are secret to members of the Security Council.”

Although documents are being purged in the case of Iraq, it is still possible to get a reliable guesstimate on how much has been raised under the UN programme to date and it is mind-boggling.

Incredibly, the programme pumped a lot more oil than it needed in order to cover its admitted “humanitarian” disbursements. Since 1996, the UN has seen fit to expend $27 billion on “relief” in Iraq (untold amounts went directly to Saddam Hussein and his inner circle), while it raised at least $70 billion through oil sales between 1998 and 2003.

The UN itself pocketed up to $1.6 billion thanks to the 2.2% in commission it claimed from each barrel of oil sold.

Given the mismatch between disbursements and revenues, the UN was evidently unable to resist the temptation to treat Iraq as a cash dispensing machine.

Consequently, as much as $15 billion in unspent programme proceeds may be sloshing about – provided it has not already been pilfered. As it is, Kurdish recipients of UN aid say that up to half of what was earmarked for them has been embezzled.

There is every reason to fear that the slush fund money will be stolen along with any interest it has earned. The UN has incredibly lax internal and external auditing procedures. Its Board of External Auditors must know about potential fraud in the Congo but has not taken the steps to formally report it to the General Assembly. Worse still, its Office of Internal Oversight Services appears to play the lead role in assuring that damaging audit reports do not reach the General Assembly. Finally, requests to the Secretary-General to have these improper practices investigated have apparently gone unheeded.

The UN has such a pristine record that you would be hard pressed to find more than a handful of punishments for fraud – despite a deal flow worth tens of billions a year. This is unprecedented in the commercial world, impossible in the bureaucratic one; especially when there is no audit department to speak of.

Can there be any doubt that the best energy business in the world over the past five years is a tax-payer funded one resident on the East side of Manhattan?

[ImpotentRage]

I can only pray that you are right. However, I am "rather" skeptical considering what passes for accountability these days. And we give that illigitimate organization HOW much money? My head hurts.

[farmfriend]

You must be on all the time like I am.

[detsaoT]

bump for later reading

[Carry_Okie]

...it is just another prime example of why we need to get rid of the UN, not just get out but get rid of it.

Correct. It can't be reformed and remains a danger even if we aren't there. Remember however, that when we and Japan leave, that's 40% of the UN operating budget and 70% of its peacekeeping resources.

I wish to add to Mr. Paul's analysis on the other thread that in the entire history of the UN, there have been only two times when a member state bothered to adhere to the Charter and request "permission" to initiate war: Korea and Gulf War I. Every other nation on earth, who has engaged in over 150 military acts of war since the UN Charter was ratified has ignored the Security Council.

So far, the UN has been only binding on us. Without us, it will likely be ignored. Hopefully, withdrawing our money will induce a stampede for the exits and Mr. Rockefeller will get his land back.

Then we can get to charging him for racketeering, fraud, and tax evasion along with a whole lot of other "charitiable" foundations.

[Calpernia]

Excerpted...Long:

http://www.iraqwatch.org/perspectives/cfsp-00-f-6.htm

NIX TO BLIX: MAN WHO CERTIFIED IRAQ AS NON-NUCLEAR IS UNLIKELY TO FIND -- OR EVEN TO SEEK -- SADDAM'S HIDDEN WEAPONS

Security Council's Choice is Sure Sign of End of 'Containment' Center for Security Policy SECURITY FORUM No. 00-F 6 27 January 2000

...The second has been the failure to implement Congress's Iraq Liberation Act - which was supposed to fund the overthrow of the dictator by native opposition groups. President Bill Clinton signed the 1998 act which was supposed to invest $97 million in this project. Apparently only $20,000 has been disbursed to the opposition groups - enough to buy some basic office supplies. The London office of the Iraqi National Congress, the main democratic opposition group, shut down at the end of last year. All this dithering and incompetence has enabled Saddam to replace his bombast after the Gulf War with a credible claim to have rolled back allied achievements then.

Where did that money go?

[zeugma]

Bump for later read

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

I borrowed "UNRon" from another poster. It's so infuriating to see that sanctimonious Koffi Annan pontificating for the cameras. What counrty is he from? Is it the Congo?

[ImpotentRage]

No. He is from Ghana and I would like to see him and his wife return there to work on the betterment of race relations he is always espousing.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for that link !

[johnb838]

Bush needs to be preparing the way right now w/ re to the UN. WA-AY too many people still are in love with the 'idea' of the UN and think they have some sort of credibility. The truth needs to come out or we are going to continue to be screwed. This is a crucial part of the war on terror, imo. Besides, W did such a masterful job of setting them up, I can't believe he'd let them get away.

[eureka!]

Amazing. At least Cuba isn't on the Human Rights Committee. ;^)

[browardchad]

O'Reilly's working on the U.N.

And he's doing a horrible job. I've seen him do two spots on Oil-for-Food; in the first, all he kept saying is "nobody got any aid." (Not true -- some got aid, but not nearly what they should have gotten.) In the second one last night, he had a (barely understandable) U.N. official on spewing numbers on expenditures, which didn't add up to proceeds, and instead of pointing that out, he again spouted "they didn't get any aid."

He is doing a really lame job with this; at the very least he should refer to Rosett and Safire's research, but it seems that he hasn't read anything on the subject, since he's not making any intelligent comments.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Yeah Right!!!!:

U.S. Enraged as Cuba Returned to U.N. Rights Body

[PJ-Comix]

“These audits are sometimes used to cover-up real problems in programmes such as the UN’s Chief Resident Auditor in the Congo who was removed and his audit blocked when it alleged possible fraud involving communications equipment procured for that mission,” the source said.

The Congo. How could there possibly NOT be fraud there?

[john316]

How about backups, that is what burned Ollie North, I remember that he got nailed 'cause some PROFS (email) admin recovered his old email from backups. If I remember correctly, it was that incident that started the all the hoopla in the email community about how long to keep backups.

[mabelkitty]

This needs to go to O'Reilly. He had the UN liaison to Iraq on his show last night, and they guy was lying through his arrogant stained teeth.

[Stultis]

Bump!

[ravingnutter]

Consequently, as much as $15 billion in unspent programme proceeds may be sloshing about – provided it has not already been pilfered.

Is this the money in the French bank BNP Paribas? It sounds like about the right amount, I have heard estimates ranging between 15 and 20 billion dollars.

Someone mentioned the Kofi Annandersen article above, here is a link that I found in a search in case some have not seen it:

Kofi Annandersen

[DannyTN]

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I question whether the UN was ever set with the proper monetary controls, external audits and checks and balances to manage that kind of money.

Not that I'm recommending keeping the UN. But if we do keep it, we need controls.

[F16Fighter]

LOL -- the "humanitarian" UN, winds up a mere bag-o-shells -- and nothing but a money-laundering front for international criminal enterprises, led by Kofi Annan.

If THIS doesn't drive a stake through the heart of United Nations, nothing can.