Is this how the UN Oil-For-Food Program was really set up?
Here is a very wierd story, published in the Washington Post today. Are we to believe that this man and his likes were the ones who set up the UN Oil-For-Food program? And then the skimmed off the top?
“South Korean businessman and influence peddler Tongsun Park was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for his role in the bribery scandal surrounding the United Nation’s oil-for-food program for Iraq a decade ago. Park, 71, admitted taking more than $2.5 million from Saddam Hussein’s government to bribe senior U.N. officials to persuade them to ease economic sanctions against Iraq after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He was convicted in July of acting as an unregistered agent of Iraq; he was to have set up a back channel between then-U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and then-Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. The sentence was the maximum possible. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin also ordered Park to forfeit $1.2 million of his assets and fined him $15,000. Chin said Park had ‘acted out of greed’ and ‘blatantly disregarded the law’. ‘You either bribed a U.N. official or you were acting as if you were going to bribe a U.N. official’, Chin told Park, who stood impassively in the courtroom. He was taken into custody after saying goodbye to friends. Park’s trial and a U.N. investigation exposed a secretive network of businessmen, Washington politicians and other insiders who joined forces in the early 1990s to ease U.N. sanctions imposed on Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in 1990. Their efforts eventually led to the $64 million oil-for-food program allowing Iraq to sell its oil to pay for humanitarian goods. Park’s role in the scheme marked an extraordinary comeback — and another amazing fall — for a man who was indicted in the 1970s ‘Koreagate’ influence-peddling scandal that roiled Washington. He had funneled hundreds of thousands in cash from the South Korean government to influential members of Congress. After the case broke, Park fled to South Korea. But after bribery charges against him were dropped, he agreed to return to the United States and testify before Congress about his activities. During that era, Park was a fixture in Washington political circles, hosting parties at his historic George Town Club. His friends and clients included the late House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.), Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) and William E. Timmons, an influential Republican lobbyist who once joined forces with Park in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the U.S. ouster of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega. ‘He was always known as a man who was willing to bring two people together for the right price’, said Mark G. Califano, a former U.N. investigator who co-wrote “Good Intentions Corrupted,” a book based on the findings of a U.N. probe led by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul A. Volcker. Despite his past, Park insinuated himself with Boutros-Ghali in the early 1990s, acting as an unofficial intelligence adviser on issues including the Korean Peninsula and Japan. He provided ‘first-class information’, ‘knew everybody’ and was ‘an integral part’ of Washington’s political elite, Boutros-Ghali told a team of U.N. investigators probing corruption in the humanitarian program. Park was also valued by Boutros-Ghali and U.N. insiders for his capacity to secure money and political support for a variety of U.N. causes, including the organization’s 50th anniversary celebration… The federal investigation into the oil-for-food program has expanded into a wider probe of other corruption at the United Nations and has resulted in the indictment or conviction of 14 people.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/22/AR2007022201650_pf.html
The NY Times version of this story reports:
“Judge Denny Chin of Federal District Court in Manhattan said Mr. Park had ‘blatantly disregarded the law’ by taking more than $2 million for trying to lobby United Nations officials to ease sanctions against Iraq. ‘You acted out of greed, acted to profit from what was supposed to be a humanitarian program’, Judge Chin told Mr. Park. He also fined him $15,000 and ordered him to forfeit $1.2 million. The judge called the sentence ‘harsh’ for a 71-year-old man with health problems. But he also said it was ‘appropriate’. Mr. Park was found guilty last July. He was the first defendant to go to trial in connection with a scandal that involved cash from Iraq in diplomatic pouches, ‘back-channel communications’ to the United Nations secretary general at the time, and even a scheme to bribe him. The oil-for-food program was intended to ease some aspects of the sanctions imposed on Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in 1990. Under it, Mr. Hussein’s government could use the money from limited oil sales to buy aid supplies — food, medicine and other nonmilitary staples. Federal prosecutors said Mr. Park had even had a hand in influencing the negotiations that gave birth to the aid program in 1995. … Judge Chin focused on the money that passed through Mr. Park’s hands, and on the money that he pocketed. The judge said Mr. Park had accepted ‘manila folders filled with $100 bills’ and had once gone to Iraq to pick up $700,000 in cash. Mr. Park’s lawyer, Michael S. Kim, said Mr. Park had decided not to say anything in court because of ‘advanced age, frail health and his desire to get his life back on track’. Mr. Park said at the time of his arrest that he had diabetes and high blood pressure and had just had a kidney transplant. The sentencing came hours after Judge Chin refused a request from four other defendants to dismiss separate fraud and conspiracy charges. They have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial. Mr. Park, who was also a central figure in a Congressional bribery scandal in the 1970s that became known as Koreagate, was arrested 13 months ago. Mexican immigration officials took him into custody at the Mexico City airport. As prosecutors prepared their case against Mr. Park, an independent panel led by Paul A. Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman, concluded that at the time of his activities for Iraq, Mr. Park was something of an informal adviser to the United Nations secretary general at the time, Boutros Boutros-Ghali.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/world/23food.html
Filed under: Corruption, Iraq, UN History, UN Secretary-General
Dear Madam / Sir,
Related to all your articles, having as subject “CORRUPTION in UNITED NATIONSâ€, I would like to ask you for a service. Maybe in this way we will change the believing that “…the only folks who care about extensively documented allegations of corruption in UN are a handful of U.S. congressmen, the Feds and maybe a couple of journalists … “.
I am a former UN Staff Member. I worked for the UN Department of Peace Keeping Operations (UN DPKO). First in Kosovo (UNMIK) from 2000 to 2001, and then in Congo (MONUC) from 2001 to 2002. I was the Chief, EDP Section (today, Information Technologies). Because of my position, I was very well involved with IT equipment requisitions, biddings analysis, procurement, deliveries, … etc. activities. Mainly to the ones dealing with the Indian companies (Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd - TCIL, Thunderbird Industries LLC, … etc.). Most of these “activities†were very well connected to the “irregular” provisions of contractual staff, as well as to US$ millions in “missing†equipment (computers, radio-communication, tele-communication, … etc.), in both UN Missions.
In 2000, after a duty mission to Brindisi (the UN DPKO Logistic Base), I realized many wrong “thingsâ€. I investigated them further, and I found many, many, wrong doings. I wrote related reports, and I tried – for all ways – to call the attention of my supervisors, about so many, so many, cases of corruption, in two of the UN DPKO Sections: “EDP†and “Communications†(today, both are merged: “CITâ€, Communications and Information Technology Section), without success. Moreover, I meet, twice, the “UN Corruption Watchdogs†(UN OIOS), Mr. Dileep NAIR in Prishtina, Kosovo and Ms. Esther STERN in Kinshasa, Congo. I fully brief them; providing substantial and extensive documentation, about many different cases, but … nothing happened …It is true that “incompetence†and “arrangements†are very common in some organizations of the UN System.
In the Congo Mission, only for one-year budget, 2001-2002, I discover that US$ 8 Million in IT equipment was “missingâ€. The “funny†issue is that all this equipment appeared in different UN DPKO documents as … already “delivered” (?!?) Following many complains, I succeeded to “recover†US$ 3 Million, but for the other US$ 5 Million … “nobody knows where they are …†It was investigating about this “missing” equipment, that I discovered a very, very “funny†… and, completely uncontrolled system !… called “inter-mission equipment movementsâ€. Most of the equipment is “missingâ€; in these “transfers†… Another “funny†method, consists in keeping, new and very expensive equipment, in the warehouses. Following UN DPKO “rules”, all equipment, after two years in the warehouse, “must” be declared … “obsolete”. Afterwards, most of this expensive equipment “disappeared†and again: … “nobody knows where they are …â€. When you realize that only one satellite dish (of 120, bought only with the MONUC 2001-2002 budget) costs ~US$ 150,000 Dollars !
Other examples: Galaxy, the UN Recruitment System, was developed “in-house”, with funds and resources coming from UNMIK. Galileo, the UN Disaster Recovery System, was also developed “in-house”, with funds and resources coming from MONUC. When you realize that all these important amount of money, was allocated by the international community to help these Countries to recover from years of war, instead of being dedicated to create more “white elephantsâ€. It should be also mentioned that these “in-house” developments cost to UN, 10 times or more, of the price of similar, standard and “ready-to-use” systems, very common on the market.
Only In 2005, UN Procurement handled almost US $2 Billion in purchasing for the UN DPKO. A related UN OIOS Report revealed that nearly one-third of UN Procurement contracts examined, involved “waste, corruption or other irregularities”, having many contracts “some types of wrongdoing”. In other(s) similar cases, the VOLCKER Commission concluded that UN allowed “illicit, unethical and corrupt behaviour” to overwhelm the US$ 64 Billion Oil-for-Food Program.
I would like to help — as much as possible – all related actions, to avoid – as much as possible – more corruption in UN. This is the main purpose of this message to you.
By now, current corruption, money-laundering conspiracy, fraud and ill-gotten bribes cases — involving hundred of millions of US Dollars – are already scheduled in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, against Sanjaya BAHEL (former Chief, UN Procurement Division), Nishan KOHLI (Indian businessman — TCIL, Thunderbird, … etc.), Alexander YAKOVLEV (former UN Procurement Division) and Vladimir KUZNETSOV (former ACABQ - UN Budget).
Could you please, be so kind, and help me to get in contact with Mr. Michael GARCIA, US Attorney, or with Mr. Jacob BUCHDAHL, US Assistant Attorney, or with Ms. Denise L. COTE, US District Judge, in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York ? I am really committed to help them to find the truth.
If the Members of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Chairman Mr. Tom LANTOS and Ranking Member Ms. Ileana ROS-LEHTINEN, think it is still worth asking that justice could be done in these cases, I will be also fully available.
Thanks indeed of your kind help on this.
Kind Regards,
Oscar.
PS. In case you need more related information or documentation please, let me know.
Mr. Oscar FIESTAS-TEJADA
Strasbourg, France
ofiestas@netscape.net
PS. This is an extract of a related book, written by a former UN Auditor, to be published very soon:
…
A case in point was Oscar, the Chief of Electronic Data Processing in the Congo when I was there. Oscar was professional, efficient, and knowledgeable. When he showed me data he had amassed demonstrating that he was missing nearly $4.8 million in assets procured by Headquarters under his budget, he had everything carefully documented.
That many assets missing from a budget that was in total somewhere between $20 and $30 million was a loss rate of almost 20 percent. I forwarded the results to Headquarters for follow-up. I never heard back …
“Edwin, can we meet?â€
“Sure,†I said, “What’s up?â€
“I have something to show you.â€
This was Oscar, the chief of EDP in MONUC, the Congo. My auditors and I were auditing EDP and telecommunications assets. Oscar impressed me early on when after drafting a questionnaire to assess the level of user satisfaction with telecommunications support in the mission, I sent the draft to a few high-tech types for comment before finalizing it. Oscar was one of them. He took time to redo the questionnaire in a manner that improved its usefulness for the purpose intended. It was clear to me that I was dealing with someone very knowledgeable about the subject. He was clearly a professional and stood head and shoulders above the other people I had come to value in that position.
The meeting took place that same day in my office.
“What do you have?†I asked.
“Just this,†Oscar said handing me a spreadsheet analysis of assets under his control. It showed that he was missing nearly $4.8 million in assets procured by Headquarters under his budget.
“Oscar,†I said, “can you walk me through the methodology you used?†Oscar explained that he took all the requisitions against his budget that became purchase orders. He then used those purchase orders to track down all the assets he should have received, and the result was that missing $4.8 million. That many assets missing from a budget somewhere between $20 and $30 million was a loss rate of almost 20 percent. I forwarded the results to Headquarters for follow-up; I never heard back.
…
Thank you very much for your very important and interesting comment today on UN-Truth.
I, too, am a former UN staff member — and while I have not had an identical experience, perhaps there are some similarities.
I was surprised to read your report that Peacekeeping money was used to set up Galaxy and Galileo.
You have asked for help to get in touch with various people (Mr. Michael GARCIA, US Attorney; Mr. Jacob BUCHDAHL, US Assistant Attorney; Ms. Denise L. COTE, US District Judge, in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; or with members of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, including Chairman Mr. Tom LANTOS and Ranking Member Ms. Ileana ROS-LEHTINEN.
I am afraid that I have no access to these persons, either. All I am in a position to do is post your comment. Perhaps by reading your comment on UN-Truth, some of them may become aware of your message — but, realistically speaking, that might be far too optimistic. I would encourage you to write directly to their offices.
And please feel free to write again to us here.