Oil-For-Food Indictment
Federal prosecutors in New York have obtained a long-expected indictment against the former head of the defunct UN oil for food program, Benon Sevan, of Cyprus. Sevan is not in custody. He is in Cyprus, but there is an Interpol warrant for his arrest. Sevan, 69, lead the 64-billion dollar UN program from its inception in 1996 to its demise in 2003, with the US invasion of Iraq.
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia said "The allegations in this current indictment that the executive director of the very program that was created to provide humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people was involved in such a scheme demonstrates how pervasive the corruption was, and how that corruption undermined the operation of the program."
Sevan – the 14th individual indicted or convicted during the course of the investigation, is charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Another businessman named Fred Nadler was charged with him today. They've been added in a superseding indictment to the case pending against Houston oil tycoon Oscar Wyatt and several others for allegedly similar offenses.
In a released statement, Sevan's attorney says his client has been turned into a "scapegoat" for the problem plagued program, and that the most important thing to focus on is what the indictment does not allege. "This indictment does not charge-- because it cannot—that Mr. Sevan ever took any action or failed to take any action other than in the best interests of the Oil-For-Food Programme and the United Nations."
The extradition treaty between the United States and Cyprus does not require Cyprus to turn him over to U.S. custody.