Reversal Made on Sevan's Legal Fees
BY BENNY AVNI - Special to the Sun
March 29, 2005

UNITED NATIONS - On the eve of a crucial report on Secretary-General Annan's role in the oil-for-food scandal, and amid a flurry of new press allegations of improprieties at the organization, the United Nations was forced to reverse a decision to reimburse Benon Sevan for his legal expenses.
One week after The New York Sun disclosed that Mr. Annan had decided to cover Mr. Sevan's legal expenses, using an account that drew on Iraq's oil money, spokesman Fred Eckhard said yesterday, It has been decided that it is not appropriate that the fees be paid by the U.N.
The about-face came on a day when new leaks from the oil-for-food investigation committee headed by a former Federal Reserve chairman, Paul Volcker, appeared to indicate that its interim report, expected to be released today, could potentially damage Mr. Annan much more than previously expected.
U.N. officials had to address questions about new damaging press reports from such disparate sources as the Arab press and the American right blogosphere. Mr. Eckhard, who at one point described the onslaught as death by a thousand cuts, addressed accusations ranging from sexual harassment by the U.N.'s top election official to abuse of power.
It seems almost as if now that every allegation is being listened to by the press, people use the rumor mill to settle scores, one official who asked that his name not be used told the Sun yesterday.
Here are several of yesterday's allegations:
KOJO ANNAN: According to a report published on the Internet, in August 1998, Mr. Annan's son Kojo presented Cotecna business cards to the Iraqi ambassador to Nigeria. The Swiss company later won a U.N. contract for inspection of goods in the oil-for-food program.
Frontpagemag.com claims that its source is the Volcker committee report, which based its allegations on interviews with Pierre Mouselli, a businessman in Paris who was Kojo's business partner. According to the Web site, Mr. Mouselli told the Volcker committee that, in September 1998, he and Kojo Annan met the U.N. secretary-general to get his blessing to contact Iraqi officials. The contacts were allegedly made on behalf of Cotecna.
A Cotecna spokesman, Seth Goldschlager, told the Sun yesterday that this is the first time he has heard these new allegations, adding that it would not be appropriate to comment on speculations. In the past Cotecna denied that Kojo Annan, who had worked in Africa on the company's behalf, had any connection to Iraq or the oil-for-food contract. The Volcker committee will not release any part of its report before noon today.
BENON SEVAN: The decision to reverse the policy of reimbursing Mr. Sevan for his legal fees was announced yesterday after a week in which Iraqi officials expressed outrage at the intended payment.
Mr. Eckhard said yesterday that no money had been disbursed yet, adding that the organization might still decide to reimburse Mr. Sevan if the allegations against him prove to be untrue. He refused to confirm the Sun's report that Mr. Sevan has demanded payments exceeding $300,000. Mr. Sevan's attorney, Eric Lewis, did not return phone calls yesterday.
IQBAL RIZA: Mr. Eckhard yesterday faced new questioning also about a U.N. arrangement that allows former officials, including the outgoing chief of staff Iqbal Riza, to continue enjoying diplomatic privileges, after leaving the organization, for the salary of $1 a year. Questions about the arrangement first appeared in the Sun yesterday.
According to Mr. Eckhard, there are at least 10 officials who enjoy the $1 salary at the undersecretary-general, and two at the level of assistant secretary-general. All are entitled to reimbursement of expenses when they travel abroad on behalf of Mr. Annan, he added. Payments on such trips could be as high as $400 a day - double that in areas considered high-risk.
DILEEP NAIR: Mr. Eckhard refused to reveal the result of a meeting Mr. Annan had last week with the head of the U.N.'s watchdog office, the Office of Internal Oversight Services, Dileep Nair. The meeting came after a decision to reopen an investigation into staff allegations that Mr. Nair had abused his position.
Last Thursday's meeting was designed to allow Mr. Nair to appeal the conclusions reached by the new investigation against him, but Mr. Annan said he could not reveal anything on the conclusions, the appeal, or any other details about the meeting.