Bolton Backs Efforts to Disclose Annan Finances 

By Stewart Stogel
October 5, 2006
Newsmax
Original Source: http://www.newsmax.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?page=http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/10/5/145255.shtml
UNITED NATIONS -- A senior official at the U.S. mission to the United Nations tells NewsMax that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton would support efforts to disclose financial information about U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. 
Annan recently refused to publicly release an internal accounting of his personal wealth, which did not sit well with Bolton. 
It's ridiculous, a senior Bolton staffer said. It should be done; we are for full [public] disclosure. 
The declaration was submitted as a part of an internal U.N. audit now mandated under reforms enacted as a result of the ongoing oil-for-food scandal. But, Annan refuses to release any contents of the declaration to the public. 
This, from the same person who campaigned for the U.N.'s top slot under a pledge of transparency which was repeatedly proclaimed when he ran for the office in 1996. 
Since then, the U.N. has suffered under the worst financial scandal in its 60-year history. 
Estimates range from $2 billion to $20 billion missing from the oil-for-food program, which was created by the Security Council to address the humanitarian needs of Iraq's civilian population. 
More than $30 million was spent to investigate the alleged fraud. 
To date, less than $20 million has been recovered. 
While Annan has not b
een accused of any criminal wrongdoing, questions remain about his personal finances. Here are some finances Annan refuses to disclose: 
·ð  The retirement compensation from two U.N. pensions. One he has already received as an undersecretary-general, and on
e he will receive come January as a retired secretary-general. 
·ð  Compensation from both the U.N. and private tenants on income rent from a condo on New York's Roosevelt Island. 
·ð  Income from any stock investments, in lieu of his refusal to create a bli
nd trust, while holding the U.N.'s top position. 
·ð  Compensation from any other outside activities, such as lectures, known at the U.N. as honorariums. 
In 10 years as the U.N.'s top official, the only outside income Annan has public declared was th
e award from the Nobel Peace Prize, which was donated to charity. 
In a briefing to NewsMax on Tuesday, Annan spokesman Stephane Dujarric boasted that the secretary-general has done all he has to do and will do no more. 
While such disclosures are good for the president of the United States and prime minister of the United Kingdom, it seems they can be ignored by the world's so-called premier diplomat, the secretary-general of the United Nations. 
On Friday, Bolton is expected to add his voice to those officially asking Annan to change his mind, say officials at the U.S. mission at the U.N. 
Stay tuned . . .