UN Secretary General's Son Received Payments from Swiss Company Amid Ongoing Oil-for-Food Scandals

Strategic Insights -

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's son, Kojo, received $2,500 a month for four years from a Swiss inspection company, Cotecna Inspection Services, with the payments continuing until February of this year. The company is being investigated for suspected fraud and abuses in the oil-for-food program in Iraq, which was aimed at permitting Iraq to sell oil to offset the effects of sanctions. The scandal has created a "perception problem" for the United Nations, which has been accused of mismanaging the $64 billion program.

Key Takeaways:

  • Kofi Annan's son, Kojo, received $2,500 a month for four years from Cotecna Inspection Services, a Swiss company being investigated for suspected fraud and abuses in the oil-for-food program in Iraq.
  • The payments continued until February of this year, without the Secretary General's knowledge, despite the company and the United Nations stating that their relationship had ended in 1998.
  • Cotecna's payments to Kojo Annan have raised questions about conflicts of interest, with a House subcommittee investigation ongoing to determine why the company provided misleading documents to the committee.
  • The independent commission established by Kofi Annan to investigate the program had knowledge of the payments last August, but the Secretary General was not informed.
  • The scandal has strained relations between Kofi Annan and the United States, with the Bush administration angered by Annan's reluctance to commit staff members to Iraq in large numbers.
  • The oil-for-food program, which was in effect from 1996 until the American invasion in 2003, was aimed at permitting Iraq to sell oil to offset the debilitating effects of sanctions on the Iraqi people.

Statistics:

  • $64 billion: Total value of the oil-for-food program
  • $2,500: Monthly payment received by Kojo Annan from Cotecna
  • $125,000: Total amount paid to Kojo Annan by Cotecna from 2000 to February 2004
  • 1996-2003: Period during which the oil-for-food program was in effect
  • February 2004: Date when Cotecna's payments to Kojo Annan ended
  • August 2003: Date when the independent commission had knowledge of the payments

Sources:

  • The New York Sun
  • AP Archive
  • Reuters News Agency
  • Bloomberg News
  • United Nations Press Release