Former UN oil-for-food programme head could face charges for taking kickbacks

NEW YORK – The former head of the United Nations oil-for-food programme in Iraq could face charges after a UN-backed committee investigating the scandal-tainted programme said it had found enough evidence of a kickback scheme to support prosecution.

The committee released its findings on the programme’s former director, Benon Sevan, on Monday. Hours earlier, another UN official involved in the US$64 million humanitarian programme was charged in federal court in Manhattan for allegedly soliciting a bribe from a company seeking an oil-for-food contract.Alexander Yakovlev, a Russian procurement officer, was the first UN official to be charged in the scandal.He was also accused of wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly accepting nearly US$1 million in bribes from UN contractors in his work outside the programme.Yakovlev pleaded guilty on Monday to the charges and surrendered to FBI agents in Manhattan but was later released on US$400,000 bail.He could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the three counts.Sevan, a Cypriot citizen, is under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for his role in the scheme.He said on Sunday he was resigning his post at the United Nations, a symbolic gesture given that the world body was paying him just US$1 a year to keep him on payroll so he would cooperate with the committee.But it did remove his diplomatic immunity and could leave him open to prosecution.The Independent Inquiry Committee led by former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker reported on Monday that it had also uncovered enough evidence to prosecute two of Sevan’s friends who are related to former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.They are suspected of helping the ex-director in a kickback scheme.- Nampa-APHours earlier, another UN official involved in the US$64 million humanitarian programme was charged in federal court in Manhattan for allegedly soliciting a bribe from a company seeking an oil-for-food contract.Alexander Yakovlev, a Russian procurement officer, was the first UN official to be charged in the scandal.He was also accused of wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly accepting nearly US$1 million in bribes from UN contractors in his work outside the programme.Yakovlev pleaded guilty on Monday to the charges and surrendered to FBI agents in Manhattan but was later released on US$400,000 bail.He could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the three counts.Sevan, a Cypriot citizen, is under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for his role in the scheme.He said on Sunday he was resigning his post at the United Nations, a symbolic gesture given that the world body was paying him just US$1 a year to keep him on payroll so he would cooperate with the committee.But it did remove his diplomatic immunity and could leave him open to prosecution.The Independent Inquiry Committee led by former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker reported on Monday that it had also uncovered enough evidence to prosecute two of Sevan’s friends who are related to former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.They are suspected of helping the ex-director in a kickback scheme.- Nampa-AP