Ethics Newsline®

WASHINGTON
An independent panel investigating allegations of corruption at the United Nations last week faulted U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan for poor management, but stopped short of accusing him of wrongdoing.

Annan has been under fire over his handling of apparent corruption, bribery, and bid rigging in the $64 billion Oil for Food program, administered by the United Nations from 1996 through 2003.

Part of the scandal involved an Oil-for Food contract awarded to Swiss firm Cotecna Inspection Services, which employed Annan’s son, Kojo, prompting charges of favoritism and undue influence, reported the Associated Press.

An independent panel headed by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker last week released a report concluding that while Kofi Annan should have investigated more fully his son’s ties to Cotecna, there is insufficient evidence to accuse Annan of any wrongdoing.

The panel criticized Annan for failing to hold a thorough investigation of his son’s relationship with Cotecna when it was first reported by the Sunday Telegraph of London in 1999. Instead of insisting upon an “independent, thorough-going professional investigation,” an in-house inquiry dismissed the issue in less than 24 hours, noted the New York Times.

While Volcker’s panel failed to fully vindicate the embattled Annan, they eased his burden by concluding that much of the blame belonged to Kojo Annan and Cotecna, which tried to hide their relationship.

Last week, Kofi Annan called on his son, who has stonewalled investigators since a single interview last October, to cooperate, reported the Los Angeles Times.

“I love my son, and I have always expected the highest standards of integrity from him,” Annan said. “I am deeply saddened by the evidence to the contrary that has emerged, and particularly by the fact that my son had failed to cooperate fully with the inquiry.”

Also coming in for criticism last week were two of Annan’s closest advisers, Dileep Nair and Iqbal Riza, the latter for shredding documents despite Annan’s directive to preserve records for investigators.