Indictment in UNSCAM

Benon Sevan, the former UN official kleptocrat in charge of the oil for food program, was indicted on charges stemming from UNSCAM by the US District Court in Manhattan.

Former U.N. Oil-for-Food chief Benon Sevan has been indicted in New York federal court for allegedly taking bribes under the program from Saddam Hussein's regime, U.S. authorities announced Tuesday.

The charges, detailed in a joint press release by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's office and the Manhattan district attorney, came over a year after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker completed an investigation for the United Nations into the massively corrupted Oil-for-Food program that operated in Saddam's Iraq between 1996 and 2003.

According to the press release, Sevan allegedly received $160,000 generated from the sale of Iraqi oil under the program from one Ephraim Nadler, an associate who was also indicted, on behalf of the government of Iraq. The money was allegedly used to pay off overdue credit cards and bills.

Specifically, the two were charged with wire fraud, based on their depriving the United Nations of its right to Sevan's honest services; bribery concerning an organization — the United Nations that receives more than $10,000 annually from the federal government; and conspiracy to commit these offenses.

Here's to hoping that Sevan turns on others at the UN, including Kofi Annan and his son Kojo along with other diplomats and officials who profited from the oil for food program.

However, the indictment faces one huge hurdle. Sevan is currently residing in Cyprus, which does not have extradition rights with the US. Sevan is beyond the reach of US justice at the moment. Hot Air has more.

UPDATE:
Fixed typos.

Ed Driscoll thinks that this will get Turtle Bay roiling like soup set on boil. I wont go that far considering the problems with actually bringing Sevan to justice. It is good to see them squirm nonetheless. They have lots to worry about.

Atlas Shrugs points to the It Shines For All coverage and notes that the media is doing its best to ignore the indictment of UN officials for corruption. Considering that the UN was used as a personal piggy bank for Sevan and other UN officials and diplomats associated with the Oil for Food program, and billions are unaccounted for, you would think the media would be more interested in getting to the bottom of the mess in Turtle Bay, but they appear unwilling to do the heavy lifting. Why? There's a juicy story here and someone should be covering it vigorously.


Others blogging the indictment: Infidel Bloggers Alliance, The Jawa Report, Outside the Beltway, Sand in the Hourglass, Blue Crab Boulevard, Pajamas Media, and Right Winged.