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International-UN-NGOs
Oil-for-food chief 'has overseas accounts'
2005-07-24
Well of course he does!
Investigators in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal have discovered a network of overseas bank accounts operated by Benon Sevan, the former head of the United Nations programme, who is the subject of a criminal inquiry by New York prosecutors.

Officials from investigative agencies, including the UN's Volcker inquiry, say that Mr Sevan has accounts in his native Cyprus, Turkey and Switzerland. The first interim report from the inquiry, published in February, criticised Mr Sevan for a "grave and continuing" conflict of interest over oil export vouchers from Saddam Hussein, which he solicited for an oil trading company in Panama. The investigators, who described his conduct as "ethically improper" estimated that it had netted the company about $1.5 million.

Mr Sevan denies the allegations that he steered Iraqi oil to the trading company as part of a system of bribes and kickbacks.
"Lies! All lies!"
The inquiry said that the origins of $160,000 received by Mr Sevan remained a mystery, although Mr Sevan said that he had been left the money by an aunt. The investigators said that the aunt's lifestyle and modest pension were not consistent with such large sums.
"She was frugal."
"How frugal?"
Very frugal!"
A Volcker committee spokesman said that "new material" had been found in connection with Mr Sevan, and that his role would be a focus of the third interim report due out at the end of this month. Robert Morgenthau, the Manhattan District Attorney, said that he had sent a formal request to the UN for all documents relating to Mr Sevan and for the details of the foreign bank accounts.

Investigators have asked the relevant banks for details of all transactions, but because of strict laws governing banking secrecy in all three countries, have warned that they might struggle to gain access to the accounts. Mr Sevan's lawyer in New York, Eric Lewis, was unavailable for comment yesterday.
"We will say no more!"
Posted by:Steve White

#8  Lol! Right across the bow!
Posted by: .com   2005-07-24 23:22  

#7  Martha Sylwester
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-24 23:17  

#6  Start checking for accounts under names like Senon Bevan. And what was the aunt's name?
Posted by: mojo   2005-07-24 23:13  

#5  Gassy Knoll -- isn't that where Mike lives?
Posted by: Neutron Tom   2005-07-24 18:09  

#4  Oil for food was part of my cover. Paid for my trip to the gassy knoll.
Posted by: J Rubenstein   2005-07-24 18:06  

#3  A prime example of a topic unceremoniously dropped from the Mikey agenda.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-24 17:50  

#2  I had nothing to do with this! Just ask Sike!
Posted by: Kofi Gotnone   2005-07-24 17:48  

#1  Oil-soaked money? Nah, I only have Nazi gold.
Posted by: ArmChair in sin   2005-07-24 16:39  

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