ESS casts further cloud on Compass

By Salamander Davoudi and Stephen Fidler
February 14, 2006
The Financial Times
Original Source: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/ca175704-9cfe-11da-8762-0000779e2340.html

Compass's ability to limit the fall-out from allegations of corruption at a subsidiary dealing with the United Nations has been called into question. This was after it emerged that employees who had access to secret UN information are still working in the company.
The documents, which the company said yesterday were genuine, showed that confidential UN contractor reports and other information was shared among employees at the subsidiary, Eurest Support Services.
The documents in question showed efforts by the company to respond to complaints about ESS's failings on a contract to supply food rations to UN peacekeepers in Burundi, including a recommendation from one UN official that ESS not be used again.
The confidential documents, obtained by Fox News, were provided by
a Russian called Alexander Yakovlev, a UN procurement officer who has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges.
They were sent to Andy Seiwert, a senior executive at ESS who was dismissed after an internal Compass investigation into the contract irregularities.
But copies of e-mail exchanges within ESS show that Mr Seiwert shared these documents with subordinates.
Compass said last week it had found serious irregularities in some of its UN contracts but said they were limited to a few individuals and had been dealt with thoroughly and effectively through the dismissal of three people.
Paul Kelly, of Compass, said: Compass Group is acting decisively in taking action against those employees responsible for irregularities and inappropriate behaviour in relation to the United Nations.
There are many reasons why a client may release otherwise confidential information to a contractor about that contractor's performance, not least to get the contractor to improve performance.
Merely being in receipt of some confidential information, particularly in a junior capacity, or without knowledge of how it was acquired, is not in itself grounds for dismissal.
The UN suspended ESS in October as a registered vendor pending completion of an investigation into allegations about the way ESS won a Liberian contract in 2004.
The investigation is ongoing.
A person from the US International Relations Committee, a US Congressional committee investigating Compass, said: This latest revelation indicates why the investigation into Compass and its contracts with the UN must continue.
The Committee wants to know what other information the UN provided to Compass or Compass-related companies.
The Serious Fraud Office has launched a preliminary examination to see whether a full investigation is required.
A US federal authority has subpoenaed the company.