U.N. OIL BIZ HIRED KOFI SON

New York Post ^ | 3/18/04 | NILES LATHEM

[kattracks]

March 18, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan worked for a company the United Nations hired to police the notoriously corrupt Iraq oil-for-food program, raising new questions about the role of top diplomats in the growing bribery scandal. Fred Eckhard, spokesman for the secretary-general, confirmed yesterday that Annan's son, Kojo, worked for three years for the Swiss company, Cotecna, which the United Nations hired in 1999 to inspect food and medicine being shipped into Iraq under the program.

[Lion in Winter]

NO MORE OIL FOR UNITED NATIONS POLITICANS... NO MORE OIL FOR UN POLITICIANS...

Say it loud and say it proud!!

Wouldn't that make a great chant for Freepers to use against anti-war bush-haters?

[backhoe]

-"No Blood for Oil"- Kojo & Kofi: Unbelievable U.N. stories--

[Prince Charles]

Blood is thicker than oil!

[Amelia]

Good to see this getting more coverage. I thought the press was going to ignore it.

[LongsforReagan]

Cujo?

[Dog]

Freepers rule.......some Freepers were on this story months ago.

[kcvl]

indictment of Robert Massey the Managing Director of Cotecna who was working in close collaboration with SGGs and the Bhuttos causing huge loses to the national exchequer of Pakistan on the charges of money laundering in Switzerland.

[kcvl]

Thursday, June 4, 1998

Benazir ready for trial in graft cases
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

---

KARACHI, June 3: Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto said on Wednesday that she was ready to face trial in Switzerland, Pakistan or anywhere else to clear her family's name of corruption charges.
She also denied her family had pocketed any kickbacks or government funds during her tenure as prime minister, and accused Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government of harassment.

``People do not like to be indicted. But in this particular case, after 20 months of a horrendous media trial, it is better that we should have a clear chance to defend ourselves in a court of law,'' Bhutto told newsmen.

Her comments followed an announcement on Tuesday in Geneva by the head of Pakistan's Accountability Commission, Senator Saif-ur Rehman, that a Swiss magistrate had indicted three men described as Bhutto family agents.

Investigating Swiss magistrate Daniel Devaud indicted Hans Fischer, former manager of Societe Generale de Surveillance, Jens Schlegelmilch, Bhutto's agent, and Robert Massey, managingdirector of Cotecna, on money laundering charges, Rehman said.

Rehman told journalists the indictments, following six months of investigation, showed there was ``sufficient evidence showing that crimes of corruption were committed.''

The judge also ``confirmed his intention to proceed with the indictment of Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari,'' he said. The judge would move against Bhutto if he found she was not covered by immunity, he added.There was no confirmation of the indictment from the Swiss judicial authorities.

Bhutto described the Pakistani government's actions as ``absolutely appalling and shocking and a trampling of democratic traditions.''``The regime is criminally conspiring to manufacture evidence and is requesting a Swiss court, on the basis of concocted statements, to indict me,'' she said.

Bhutto's government was dismissed by then-President Farooq Ahmed Leghari in November 1996, on charges of misrule and corruption. Several days after her fall from power Bhutto's husband wasarrested on charges of involvement in the murder of Murtaza Bhutto, his brother-in-law. He has been held in prison ever since.

``I would rather see myself indicted and have a chance in a court of law than not have my day in court of law,'' she said, accusing Rehman of ``cooking up evidence'' against her family.

``The irony is that I and my family cannot defend ourselves until we are actually indicted,'' she said. ``Everything is a media trial. Everything is done on the basis of statements.''

The 44-year-old Bhutto said she was going to consult her lawyer about Rehman's actions, which she described as an attempt ``to con foreign courts that do not know what happened here.''

The Senator alleged that Bhutto, Zardari, and the three people charged on Tuesday set up a scheme involving 20 offshore accounts and up to 20 bank accounts in Switzerland to pocket kickbacks from a range of trade contracts.Rehman said he believed ``more than 250 million dollars'' had been frozen in some 15 to 20 Swiss bank accounts,part of the 1.5 billion dollars he said the Bhutto family had illegally taken from Pakistan.

``We do not have 1.5 billion dollars or 250 million dollars, nor have we have taken a single dollar belonging to Pakistan,'' said Bhutto. She compared Sharif to former Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos. ``The Swiss authorities are assisting the government of Pakistan, not recognising that in Pakistan we are the democrats and Nawaz Sharif is the Marcos. Nawaz Sharif is the dicatator.''

[mass55th]

Hmm. That's interesting. When I did a search yesterday, Cotecna was listed as having a field office at the bombed Baghdad hotel.

[mware]

Cujo?

That is what I was thinking when I saw his name too.

[mware]

Hi Jim, wasn't that line a hoot? I sure hope that Carl had the tape running when Kerry said that one.

[Prince Charles]

Good find!

Cotecna - Government Contracts

[mewzilla]

Here's a link to a list of Saddamn's oil bribes.

[FreeAtlanta]

"What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive...", Coffee Airhead

[MizSterious]

FYI--nice that others are catching on, eh?

[aShepard]

Well, well. The media is finally decided to give the WSJ article legs - only a week later.

I've been waiting to hear about this on the Today show, the Nightly News, but now the cat is finally out of the bag, hell, even the New York Slimes had an op-ed piece about it yesterday

[pax_et_bonum]

pinggggggg

[cyncooper]

the notoriously corrupt Iraq oil-for-food program, raising new questions about the role of top diplomats in the growing bribery scandal.

Glad to see this referred to as "growing scandal" and that it has hit the NY Post.

[liberallarry]

The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan

Is he related to Bush's 2nd cousin?

[ken5050]

The leverage that the US will be able to employ is that the UN wants us to loan/give them a few bilion for their new building and a makeover of the old one...we should refuse to help them until they own up on this,with an audit.This is the type of issue that a few conservative Hosue members will get in front of and ride hard. It has legs..

[bray]

$Million will buy alot of Coffee!! I bet Dan Rather Old will be all over this tonite. No wait, W looked at somebody the wrong way!

Pray for W and The Truth

[EQAndyBuzz]

Blame it on Halliburton. Who wants to bet that the Socialists lay this whole thing at Cheney's feet?

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Why O' Why do we keep squandering our tax dollars on this Union of Thieves and Parasites, the UN? Notice how OBL did not fly his planes into the UN building? He knows who his friends are.

[cake_crumb]

"The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan worked for a company the United Nations hired to police the notoriously corrupt Iraq oil-for-food program, raising new questions about the role of top diplomats in the growing bribery scandal."

No UNapproved blood for oil....

[ModelBreaker]

Good to see this getting more coverage. I thought the press was going to ignore it.

I suspect it will die. Not because of the press. But because odds are W is using the threat of exposing the really juicy stuff to accomplish other ends. Right now, he could destroy the UN in the eyes of the American public. They know it. He knows it. Without US dues, the UN is a fly by night organization. W is holding all the cards in this one.

Doubt we'll ever know what the quid pro quo is for stopping the investigation. But I doubt W is ready to bring down the UN. Wish he were.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Bump for UN corruption tracking!

[thatcher]

But questions have arisen about how Cotecna managed to get the contract when its CEO, Robert Massey, was, at the time, under indictment in Switzerland in a bribery and money laundering case involving former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Cotecna offered a bid that was $1 million lower than any of its 13 competitors.

Charges of corruption, smuggling and delivery of rotten food have been leveled against the program.

[mmknight]

Looks like as of 5/22/04 "Leaked report" per Fox News, that the Fox has been guarding the hen house.

[InterceptPoint]

But questions have arisen about how Cotecna managed to get the contract when its CEO, Robert Massey, was, at the time, under indictment in Switzerland in a bribery and money laundering case involving former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

What a stupid question.

Anyone with half a brain can see that Robert Massey had the only important qualification required to win this contract, namely the willingness to pay the necessary bribes. Why this would raise quesions is beyond me. Don't people realize how business is done when you are dealing with other peoples money and, most importantly, are a member of the Officially Annointed Elite. This is simply Entitlement Major, a natural right of the U.N. Kings.

[kcvl]

I missed it. What did it say?