SO THAT'S WHAT THEY MEANT...:

Oil-for-food chief 'took bribes' (BBC, 8/09/05)

The former director of the UN's oil-for-food programme in Iraq has been accused of taking kickbacks by a panel investigating corruption allegations.

In its third report, the UN-appointed Volcker panel said Benon Sevan took nearly $150,000 in cash bribes.

UN chief Kofi Annan lifted Mr Sevan's UN immunity at the panel's request.

Meanwhile, a former UN procurement officer has pleaded guilty to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from UN contractors.

The move came hours after investigators said Alexander Yakovlev had receiving almost $1m in bribes outside of the oil-for-food programme.

...when they said the sanctions were working...

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 9, 2005 11:52 AM