U.N. Suspends 2 Officials in Oil-for-Food Scandal
By Judith Miller 
February 7, 2005
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/07/international/07oil.html
The United Nations has suspended the former head of the oil-for-food aid program in Iraq and another senior official who helped select the program's contractors. The move comes after an interim report by an independent commission on Thursday that severely criticized the conduct of both men.
The men - Benon V. Sevan, a Cypriot official who ran the program until its end in 2003, and Joseph J. Stephanides, a senior official on the Security Council staff who supervised contractor selection - will continue to receive pay, said Fred Eckhard, the spokesman for Secretary General Kofi Annan. The decision was made Friday, and both men were told then, he said. 
The suspensions are the first disciplinary measures against current or former United Nations employees prompted by the independent inquiry, led by Paul A. Volcker and tasked with investigating corruption and mismanagement in the aid program. 
Both men have denied any wrongdoing. In a statement issued by his lawyer on Thursday, Mr. Sevan, who is now retired, said he had never accepted anything from anyone.
Asked why the men had been suspended with pay, instead of dismissed or suspended without pay, a senior official said Sunday that the Secretariat apparently did not feel Mr. Volcker had presented enough evidence to justify such penalties.
The commission found that Mr. Sevan had repeatedly tried to help a friend's company obtain valuable contracts under the program, and it concluded that his actions had violated the United Nations Charter and seriously undermined the integrity of the United Nations. The allegations are also being investigated by Justice Department officials and by five Congressional panels. 
In less scathing comments about Mr. Stephanides, the report accuses him of having tainted what was supposed to have been competitive bidding for major contracts in the program by favoring some companies, by improperly providing them with information about the bidding, and by other actions that violated United Nations rules.
Defending his actions as technical violations of United Nations rules, Mr. Stephanides told the panel that he had not been motivated by personal gain nor had he profited from his activities. He said he had tried only to obtain the best price and had made contact with companies with the knowledge of his superiors, the report said.
The commission did not accuse either man of profiting personally from their activities. But it said it was continuing to investigate the full scope and extent of benefits received by Mr. Sevan. A telephone call and an e-mail message sent to Mr. Sevan's office were not returned Sunday night. 
Reached at home on Sunday, Mr. Stephanides refused to comment on the report's conclusions or on the disciplinary taken against him.
The suspension of Mr. Sevan is largely symbolic, because he retired last year after a 40-year career. He has remained on the United Nations payroll as an adviser at a salary of $1 dollar a year, largely to ensure that he will cooperate with the Volcker commission, United Nations officials have said. But a senior United Nations official said his suspension could be the first step toward lifting his diplomatic immunity, which Mr. Annan has vowed to do for any employee accused of criminal conduct.