| Submit your comments on this article |
| International-UN-NGOs |
| Yakovlev Pleads Guilty, Sevan Accused |
| 2005-08-08 |
| One of the targets of the Oil-for-Food investigation, Alexander Yakovlev, on Monday pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering charges for taking bribes during his work at the United Nations. Yakovlev was stripped of his diplomatic immunity earlier Monday by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan (search) and taken into custody by federal authorities. David N. Kelley, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, said that a judge accepted Yakovlev's guilty plea for his part in taking at least several hundred thousand dollars from foreign companies in connection with his job as a procurement officer at the United Nations from 1993 to 2005. The former U.N. official handled tens of millions of dollars worth of U.N. supply contracts annually when he worked there. Yakovlev was taken into custody hours after Paul Volcker (search), the man in charge of the independent investigation into Oil-for-Food (search), fingered the Russian native as one of two main U.N. officials involved in the program's corruption. Volcker's U.N.-approved panel, the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC), released its latest report highlighting mismanagement of Oil-for-Food on Monday. It accused Yakovlev of of collecting nearly $1 million in kickbacks outside the Oil-for-Food (search) program. Yakovlev resigned from his job earlier this summer after a FOX News investigation. The Volcker report also accuses Benon Sevan, the one-time head of the Oil-for-Food program who severed his ties with the United Nations on Sunday, of taking kickbacks under the multi-billion dollar humanitarian operation aimed at easing the effects of sanctions on Iraqi civilians. Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman, also said in releasing the report that Sevan should also lose his diplomatic immunity so he can be prosecuted for alleged crimes. "All I can fairly say is that given the kind of evidence that we have presented, I would think there may well be interest in doing so," Volcker said, referring to Sevan and Yakovlev losing their immunity. The report, which Volcker said was intended to tie up some "loose ends" in his panel's investigation, touched on topics other than Sevan. It dealt briefly with Annan and his son, Kojo (search), and said more would be discussed in the committee's final report, expected in September. For the first time, the report gave a motive for Sevan's actions, saying his finances were "precarious" shortly before his alleged misdeeds. EFL Lot's of links at link to reports, etc. This is happening so quickly that the MSM may not even report it. At least that's what Kofi and Volker seem to be hoping. |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |
| #2 It's gettin real PC these days for the enlightened to get rich off the poor and suffering these days. Can Al Franken please comment on the UN er I mean AA, errr I mean Bush is Hitler.... Hey, Franken and Kofi stop stealin from kids. Leave some for Chirac. |
| Posted by: macofromoc 2005-08-08 22:37 |
| #1 He may have coped a plea to protect undiscovered ill gotten gains. He also may be falling on his sword to protect others, with promises of money when he gets out. It's such a quick plea it is suspicious. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-08-08 19:25 |