The Hindu : International : Annan faces new claims in oil scandal

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Thursday, Jun 16, 2005

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International

Annan faces new claims in oil scandal

Julian Borger

Panel "urgently reviewing" a new document on the Secretary-General's role

WASHINGTON: The future of the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is once more in question after a commission of inquiry revealed it was ``urgently reviewing'' a newly disclosed document that cast fresh light on Mr. Annan's role in the ``oil-for-food'' corruption scandal.

The document is a memo from Michael Wilson, vice-president of Cotecna Inspections Services, which employed Mr. Annan's son Kojo.

In the memo to his colleagues, Mr. Wilson mentions contacts with Mr. Annan ``and his entourage'' in Paris in 1998, and claims that Cotecna ``could count on their support'' for its bid on the $10-million contract to help implement the oil-for-food humanitarian programme.

Mr. Wilson is a childhood friend of Mr. Kojo Annan and is so close to the family that he reportedly refers to Mr. Kofi Annan as ``uncle.'' His memo was dated December 4, 1998. A week later the company won the contract.

Mr. Annan has repeatedly denied having any prior knowledge that his son's company was applying for a contract under the pre-war scheme by which Iraq was allowed to sell oil to buy food, medicines and other basic supplies. The system has since been found to have been riddled with corruption and is now under scrutiny.

Denial repeated

Mr. Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard, on Tuesday repeated that denial, saying the views attributed to the U.N. ``secretariat'' in the memo ``could not have come from the Secretary-General because he had no knowledge that Cotecna was a contender for that contract.''

An investigation into the scandal, headed by Paul Volcker, a former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, issued an interim report in March which accepted Mr. Annan's assertion that he had no role in or knowledge of the award of the contract to Cotecna. That finding was considered crucial to Mr. Annan's survival in the Secretary-General's post.

But Mr. Volcker's independent inquiry committee, said it would ``conduct additional investigation regarding this new information.'' The document surfaced as Cotecna conducted a search of its files on the oil-for-food contract.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

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