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The Oil-for-Food Scandal: the program was corrupt, the U.N. owes the Iraqis an explanation
by Therese Raphael, Wall Street JournalSeverely EFL -- go read the whole thing. "If there is evidence, we would investigate it very seriously," Kofi Annan insisted last month when presented with allegations that U.N. officials knew about and may have benefited from Saddam Husseinâs corruption of the U.N.âs Oil-for-Food Program. Fortunately, Saddam appears to have been a stickler for record-keeping. A letter has come to The Wall Street Journal supporting allegations that among those favored by Saddam with gifts of oil was Benon Sevan, director of the U.N.âs Oil-for-Food Program. As detailed on this page on Feb. 9, Mr. Sevanâs name appears on a list of individuals, companies and organizations that allegedly received oil allocations or vouchers from Saddam that could then be sold via middlemen for a significant markup. The list, compiled in Arabic from documents uncovered in Iraqâs oil ministry, included many of Saddamâs nearest and dearest from some 50 countries, including the PLO, pro-Saddam British MP George Galloway, and French politician Charles Pasqua. (Messrs. Galloway and Pasqua have denied receiving anything from Saddam.) According to the list, first published by the Iraqi daily Al Mada in January, Mr. Sevan was another beneficiary, via a company in Panama known as Africa Middle East Petroleum, Co. Ltd. (AMEP), about which we have learned quite a bit. Mr. Sevan, through a U.N. spokesperson, has also denied the allegation. But the letter, which two separate sources familiar with its origins say was recovered from Iraqi Oil Ministry files, raises new questions about Mr. Sevanâs relationship with Iraqi authorities. Thereâs a lot of detail in the article--detail at the mine-eyes-are-glazing-over level--about Panamanian shell companies and interlocking directorates and cozy relationships between Mr. Sevan and various shady characters. It sure looks like a lot of people at least associated with the UN were on Saddamâs payroll--which more than explains the reluctance of that body to sign on to regime change. Posted by: Mike 2004-03-11 |
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