Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme Issues Third Interim Report
The Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme (OFP) today issued its third Interim Report. The report records the IIC's analysis and conclusions with respect to the the illicit activities of Benon Sevan, Executive Director of the U.N. Office of Iraq Programme, in concert with past or present principals of African Middle East Petroleum Co., Ltd. The report also contains evidence that a U.N. procurement officer, Alexander Yakovlev, in concert with French businessman Mr. Yves Pintore, solicited a bribe in connection with the OFP and otherwise presumptively accepted illicit payments from other U.N. contractors. Yakovlev pleaded guilty today in federal court to charges of wire fraud and money laundering for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from U.N. contractors in his work. He could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the three counts in the indictment.
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