UN internal probe finds corruption, fraud

Reuters
January 11, 2008
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/11/2136944.htm?section=world

A UN internal investigative unit has found an unexpected amount of fraud and abuse at the United Nations, including alleged sexual and financial offences.

The head of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), Inga-Britt Ahlenius, said over the last three months the office had examined about 250 cases.

We found mismanagement and fraud and corruption to an extent we didn't really expect, Ms Ahlenius said.

She said two-thirds of the cases being reviewed related to peacekeeping missions. Around 80 involved possible sexual exploitation and abuse.

The former chief auditor of Sweden held the news conference in response to media reports suggesting that there has been widespread fraud related to UN peacekeeping contracts.

She said investigators have already confirmed that contracts worth about $US600 million involved fraud at some level. The total UN peacekeeping budget for 2007-2008 exceeds $US5 billion.

Overall, Ms Ahlenius said the OIOS and its Procurement Task Force had so far submitted to the UN's top management 25 reports detailing mismanagement, fraud and corruption.

The Procurement Task Force is a temporary body set up in 2006 after corruption was revealed in the UN oil-for-food program in Iraq.

Task Force head Robert Appleton said only a minority of UN contracts were irregular and many allegations could not be substantiated.

There's no question that some of the large contracts here have been tainted, but in terms of the number of contracts, it's not anywhere near the majority, he said.

Secretary-general under fire: Ms Ahlenius said the OIOS had begun urgently reviewing a $US250 million contract the United Nations signed with a unit of US defence firm Lockheed Martin Corp to build five peacekeeping bases in Sudan's war-torn western region of Darfur.

We have been mandated by the General Assembly to carry out a review of the circumstances, she said.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has come under fire for awarding the contract to Lockheed unit Pacific Architects and Engineers Inc without opening the field to competitors.

Ms Ahlenius said the OIOS review will be part of a wider review of all such single-source contracts.

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution in December criticising Mr Ban for his decision and demanding the OIOS review.

Mr Ban said current UN rules allowed him to award such contracts in exceptional cases where only one supplier was considered able to deliver at short notice.