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Monday, March 28, 2005

Will this Make Kofi More Depressed?

Roger L. Simon has some interesting info on the UN Oil-for-Food Scam. Paul Volcker's committee has been interviewing Pierre Mouselli, Kojo's business partner, about his relationship with Kofi Annan's son. Mouselli apparently told the committee the following:

1. Previously unrevealed private meetings between Kojo and two separate Iraqi Ambassadors to Nigeria, arranged by Mouselli in or about August 1998. At these meetings Kojo presented the business card of Cotecna.

2. A trip in September 1998 by Mouselli and Kojo to the Non-Aligned Nations Movement Conference in Durban, South Africa during which they traveled with the Secretary General's entourage and later had a private lunch with Kofi Annan. In Mouselli's view, the purpose of the lunch was to make the Secretary General aware of the various business dealings in which he and Kojo were engaged, in order to get the Secretary General's "blessing".

3. Early Autumn 2002. The Iraqi Ambassador to Nigeria makes a surprise call to Mouselli inquiring of the whereabouts of Kojo (at this point Mouselli and Kojo were not in close contact). Mouselli goes to the Iraqi Embassy where he is informed by the Ambassador that we (the Iraqis) have done favors for Kojo in the past and now need to see him. The Iraqis do not specify what these favors were or what they needed from Kojo, but offer Mouselli a visa to come to Baghdad for further discussion.

It will be interesting to see the full Volcker report, to be released on Tuesday. Maybe this is why Kofi recently said he was depressed and close to quitting his post.