https://freerepublic.com/tag/sevan/ en-us Fri, 28 Oct 2005 16:32:43 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1510986/posts The publication yesterday of Paul Volcker's fifth and final report on the U.N.'s Oil for Food program tells us little we didn't know about the broad outlines of the $100 billion scandal. But, oh, are the details ever instructive. The Volcker report confirms that Saddam Hussein demanded, and got, some $1.8 billion in illegal surcharges, kickbacks and bribes from companies doing business in Iraq. It confirms that he steered billions in oil and humanitarian contracts to his politically preferred clients, particularly Russia and France, and smaller sums to agents of influence (or their associates) such as British MP George Galloway,... The Wall Street Journal https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1510986/posts#comment Fri, 28 Oct 2005 16:32:43 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1344062/posts UN inspectors in Iraq spent their working hours drinking vodka while ignoring a shadowy nocturnal fleet believed to be smuggling goods for Saddam Hussein, a former senior inspector told the US Senate yesterday. In a move that provoked fury from officials of the Swiss firm Cotecna, an Australian former inspector detailed a picture of incompetence, indifference and drunkeness among the men acting as the frontline for UN sanctions. Arthur Ventham, a former Australian army officer and customs officer, joined the operation in 2002 and worked at various sites in Iraq and neighbouring states. He said that at Iskendurun in eastern... The Telegraph (UK) https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1344062/posts#comment Wed, 16 Feb 2005 02:14:33 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1514435/posts UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations faces a crisis of reputation in the wake of the oil-for-food scandal, but the 191 member states and Secretary-General Kofi Annan are determined to reform the world body, the top U.N. management official said Wednesday. Key elements of that reform include a new, strengthened whistleblower policy and new financial disclosure rules that, among other things, will require that staff report gifts of more than $250 rather than $10,000 as the rules currently demand, said Undersecretary-General Christopher Burnham. Burnham is an American and former official in the administration of President Bush. He was hired five... ap on Yahoo https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1514435/posts#comment Wed, 2 Nov 2005 23:45:34 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1480895/posts ...So it was that the largest fraud ever recorded in history came about. Press reports often cite the overall size of Oil for Food at $60 billion, but Mr. Volcker's report makes clear that the real figure was in excess of $100 billion. From this, Saddam was able to derive $10.2 billion from illicit transactions. But the important point is he was able to steer 10 times that sum toward his preferred clients in the service of his political aims. ...Volcker's report is replete with examples of incompetent UN oversight and tales of political wrangling among the permanent members of... Wall Street Journal https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1480895/posts#comment Fri, 9 Sep 2005 12:17:39 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460882/posts UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The top U.N. management official said Wednesday he has ordered a new investigation of the procurement division in light of a senior officer's guilty plea for taking massive bribes from United Nations contractors. The review by Christopher Burnham will add to the extraordinary level of scrutiny on the procurement department, which first gained serious attention over its involvement in the scandal-tainted U.N. oil-for-food program. It was thrust into the spotlight again on Monday, when one of its staff, Alexander Yakovlev pleaded guilty in federal court to three counts of money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to... AP on Bakersfield Californian https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460882/posts#comment Wed, 10 Aug 2005 23:43:58 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460072/posts An investigation has concluded that the former head of the United Nations’ oil-for-food programme in Iraq took kickbacks to help an oil company win contracts. Another senior UN official is accused of soliciting bribes. The report is a severe blow to the organisation at a crucial time. FOR over a year, investigators have pored over questions of mismanagement and corruption at the United Nations. On Monday August 8th, they produced their firmest—and most painful—conclusions to date. An independent commission has found that Benon Sevan, the former head of the UN’s oil-for-food programme in Iraq, “corruptly benefited” from kickbacks while he... The Economist https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460072/posts#comment Tue, 9 Aug 2005 22:12:48 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460001/posts Just eight days after John Bolton's recess appointment as U.N. Ambassador, the world body's credibility took a nosedive as corruption charges were leveled against top officials involved in the $64 billion Iraq oil-for-food scandal. With one arrest yesterday and more expected shortly, experts naturally noted the connection between the arrival of the gruff American diplomat and the crisis at the United Nations. "We warned President Bush against picking Bolton," said one Senate Democrat, "and now look what's happened -- criminal allegations in the world's most credible organization." A spokesman for Ambassador Bolton refused comment on the oil-for-food scandal, but noted... Scrapple Face https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460001/posts#comment Tue, 9 Aug 2005 19:47:12 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1459518/posts New York -- As a result of a second scathing report on his administration of the scandal plagued U.N.-Iraq Oil-for-Food Prgram by U.N. investigator Paul Volcker, Benon V. Sevan is now threatening to name names. In a news conference, Volcker issued another "interim report" on the activates of Sevan, who ran the $67 billion aid program from 1997-2003. Volcker came to the conclusion that Sevan did indeed accept what amounted to several hundred thousand dollars in bribes funneled to him through various overseas channels. The most disturbing came through an aunt living in Cyprus who died in a mysterious apartment... NewsMax https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1459518/posts#comment Tue, 9 Aug 2005 01:45:40 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1459186/posts NEW YORK - Investigators probing claims of wrongdoing in the Iraq oil-for-food program accused its former chief, Benon Sevan, of corruption for taking illegal kickbacks and recommended his immunity be lifted for prosecution. The investigators said a former U.N. procurement officer sought a bribe and should have his immunity lifted as well. Alexander Yakovlev also was accused of collecting nearly $1 million in kickbacks outside the oil-for-food program. The third report by the Independent Inquiry Committee, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, was a new blow to the scandal-tainted $64 billion program. For the first time, it gave... AP on Yahoo https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1459186/posts#comment Mon, 8 Aug 2005 16:37:51 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458903/posts The former head of the scandal-tainted oil-for-food program resigned from the United Nations on Sunday, hours before he is expected to be accused of getting kickbacks from the $67 billion operation. A U.N.-established Independent Inquiry Committee, led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, plans to release on Monday its third interim report on allegations of corruption in the humanitarian program for Iraq, which began in 1996 and ended in 2003. Benon Sevan, the former executive director of the program, is to be accused of getting cash for steering Iraqi oil contracts to an Egyptian trader and of refusing... Reuters https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458903/posts#comment Mon, 8 Aug 2005 02:54:11 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458829/posts UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The former director of the U.N. oil-for-food program resigned Sunday, denying wrongdoing and blasting the organization a day before he is to be accused of profiting from illegal deals. Benon Sevan resigned from the United Nations in a letter to Kofi Annan, accusing the secretary-general of "sacrificing" him for political expediency. A spokesman for the U.N.-appointed Independent Inquiry Committee investigating the program told CNN last week that the committee's latest report on the topic, to be issued Monday, would address allegations against Sevan. Sevan's lawyer, Eric Lewis, said Thursday that he had been provided the findings... CNN https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458829/posts#comment Mon, 8 Aug 2005 00:15:13 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458849/posts UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - An investigation into the oil-for-food program will accuse for the first time on Monday the director of the defunct $67 billion U.N. operation of getting cash from oil deals. Reuters via New York Times https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458849/posts#comment Mon, 8 Aug 2005 00:45:29 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458715/posts UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - An investigation into the U.N. oil-for-food program will accuse for the first time on Monday the director of the defunct $67 billion operation of getting cash from oil deals. A U.N.-established Independent Inquiry Committee, led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, plans to release on Monday its third interim report on allegations of corruption in the humanitarian program for Iraq, which began in 1996 and ended in 2003. Benon Sevan, the executive director of the program, is to be accused of getting a kickback for steering Iraqi oil contracts to an Egyptian trader and... RedNova https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458715/posts#comment Sun, 7 Aug 2005 19:11:15 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458816/posts BENON Sevan, the former head of the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq, has resigned from the world body and criticised UN chief Kofi Annan for "sacrificing" him as he faced an inquiry into his role in the scandal-plagued aid scheme, his lawyer said Sunday. Agence France-Presse via News.com.au https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458816/posts#comment Sun, 7 Aug 2005 23:49:58 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1457084/posts NEW YORK (AP) - Investigators have concluded that the former chief of the Iraq oil-for-food program, Benon Sevan, took kickbacks under the $64 billion humanitarian operation and refused to cooperate with their probe, his lawyer said Thursday. While the amount of money Sevan allegedly took wasn't immediately known - and may be as little as $160,000 - the findings would be a major blow because of his stature in the organization and the control he had over it. The program was one of the largest in history. The Independent Inquiry Committee had planned to release its findings about Sevan on... AP on Bakersfield Californian https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1457084/posts#comment Thu, 4 Aug 2005 21:42:04 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1453466/posts NEW YORK — As investigations proliferate into the United Nations Oil-for-Food scandal, one of the more intriguing mysteries involves a former French diplomat with a direct link to the U.N.’s executive suite: Jean-Bernard Merimee (search). The 68-year-old Merimee, one of several individuals now under investigation in France for alleged involvement in Saddam Hussein’s Oil-for-Food scams, is well known for his role in the early 1990s as French ambassador to the United Nations. What investigators have not so far highlighted is that during the period Merimee is alleged to have come into commercial contact with Saddam’s regime, starting in December 2001,... Fox News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1453466/posts#comment Fri, 29 Jul 2005 22:40:02 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1453037/posts ...Last month we learned that U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan may have been aware that Swiss inspections company Cotecna was bidding for an Oil for Food contract it eventually won later that year.... Mr. Annan has denied having any prior knowledge of the Cotecna bid in testimony to Paul Volcker's committee investigating Oil for Food. But if the substance of the Cotecna memo is accurate -- the company confirms its authenticity -- it means the Secretary General may have misled investigators.... Then there is the continuing investigation of Benon Sevan, the senior U.N. bureaucrat formerly in charge of Oil for... Wall Street Journal https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1453037/posts#comment Fri, 29 Jul 2005 12:32:43 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1445564/posts UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A Canadian businessman lost his job as the top U.N. envoy to North Korea amid questions about his connection to a suspect in the U.N. oil-for-food scandal, the world body said Monday. The decision not to renew Maurice Strong's contract follows criticism that he gave his stepdaughter a job at the United Nations and concerns over his ties to a South Korean businessman accused of accepting kickbacks from Saddam Hussein's government. Deputy U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said in response to a question that Strong's contract expired last week "and it has not been renewed." She gave... Bakersfield Californian https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1445564/posts#comment Mon, 18 Jul 2005 22:29:44 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1443985/posts UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Investigators probing the U.N. oil-for-food program have found evidence of "gross mismanagement" and possible corruption by the U.N. agency that oversaw compensation for victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Iraq's deputy U.N. ambassador said Friday. Investigators with the Independent Inquiry Committee had been investigating $5 billion in questionable expenditures by the U.N. Compensation Commission for months. It had denied any wrongdoing. But Fesial al-Istrabadi told The Associated Press that the investigators believe some of the allegations were legitimate, particularly in how the commission handled currency exchange rates with the Iraqi dinar. "There appear to have... Associated Press https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1443985/posts#comment Sat, 16 Jul 2005 01:19:31 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1440760/posts UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has launched a criminal investigation of former U.N. oil-for-food chief Benon Sevan, the official's spokeswoman said Monday. Barbara Thompson would not give details of the investigation into Sevan, who came under scathing criticism from a U.N.-backed probe investigating claims of corruption in the $64 billion program in a February report. It wasn't clear how long Morgenthau has been investigating Sevan. Last year, the U.N.-backed investigation, led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, had sought Morgenthau's help in the oil-for-food probe, investigators said at the time. The criminal probe against... Bakersfield Californian https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1440760/posts#comment Mon, 11 Jul 2005 22:08:22 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1440437/posts The Manhattan District Attorney's office has opened a criminal investigation into the former head of the UN oil-fo-food program, Benon Sevan, the DA's office has just confimed for the first time to the NY Sun. The probe, apparently well advanced, involved allegations of commercial bribery related to Mr. Sevan's role as executive director from 1997-2003 of the oil-for-food relief program from Iraq, then under UN sanctions against the fromer regieme of Saddam Hussein.A source close into the criminal investigation into Mr. Sevan says that the office of the Manhattan DA, Robert Morganthau, is working in coooperation with a UN-authorized inquiry... NY Sun https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1440437/posts#comment Mon, 11 Jul 2005 13:43:08 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1437582/posts Benon V. Sevan, former director of the scandal plagued Oil for Food Program has left his home in New York and is now in his native Cyprus, say U.N. officials. Sevan returned to his family hone in the city of Nicosia in early June and though he insists he will return to New York, he has refused to give any date. The embattled former U.N. aid chief has been under intensive investigation by a "special panel" headed by former Fed chief Paul Volcker for almost a year. In a preliminary report issued in February, Volcker cast serious doubts on Sevan's... NewsMax.com https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1437582/posts#comment Wed, 6 Jul 2005 14:55:20 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1384211/posts ...The indictments announced by U.S. Attorney David Kelley support what the critics have long been saying: Oil for Food was designed from the beginning, and virtually in plain sight, in a way that allowed skimming and kickback operations to help Saddam Hussein circumvent U.N. sanctions.... The same story described "total anarchy" and "flagrant disregard of U.N. Security Council resolutions" in Oil for Food. A myriad of shady middlemen had moved in after the world's major oil companies shunned Iraq in response to Saddam's widely publicized demand the previous year for illegal kickbacks on oil contracts. This open and flagrant corruption...... Wall Street Journal https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1384211/posts#comment Fri, 15 Apr 2005 12:32:49 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1372280/posts The word out of the UK is that poor Kofi Annan is depressed, and may be close to calling it quits. How sad. How did things go so horribly wrong for Kofi? Just a few years ago he was the darling of the world community, taking pot shots at President Bush and the US at will. Dictators and tyrants everywhere loved to hear Kofi tell the world that the war in Iraq was unjust, knowing that If justice came knocking at their door, Kofi would side with them. Now things are getting interesting. First of is the issue with Kofi's... www.hotchicken.com https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1372280/posts#comment Mon, 28 Mar 2005 15:21:35 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1369342/posts UNITED NATIONS - After months of denials, the United Nations admitted yesterday that, in an exception to its own rules, it has paid for the legal defense of Benon Sevan. The U.N.'s own investigation panel denounced Mr. Sevan for his central role in the oil-for-food scandal that has engulfed the world body. New York Sun https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1369342/posts#comment Thu, 24 Mar 2005 03:45:59 GMT