UN to scrutinize GA head's finances after bribery scandal

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday announced the creation of a task force to examine the finances of the General Assembly president's office after a bribery scandal led to the arrest of ex-president John Ashe.

The task force follows an audit ordered by Ban last month to shed light on the murky ties between the United Nations and a Chinese real estate developer who allegedly used a foundation to funnel bribes to UN diplomats.

Ashe, who was General Assembly president for a year from September 2013, was arrested on October 6 by US authorities for allegedly accepting $1.3 million in bribes from Chinese billionaire Ng Lap Seng.

Addressing the assembly, Ban said the bribery scandal "strikes at the prestige and reputation of this General Assembly."

"The assembly must now draw larger lessons from this incident -- and act with resolve," he said.

Ban said the task force will "review the arrangements for the office's financing and staffing" and "recommend ways to promote enhanced transparency and accountability."

The General Assembly president, who is elected by the 193 member-states, is a largely ceremonial position.

There is little oversight of the office's financing by the United Nations. The GA president's salary is paid by the diplomat's government.

The task force will be led by Ban's chief of staff, Susanna Malcorra, in what marked an unusual intervention by the secretary-general in the General Assembly's affairs.

Ban said he had also asked the UN bodies mentioned in the US criminal complaint to report "about what they are doing to look into the matter."

The arrest of Ashe was a major blow to the United Nations, which is seeking to promote corruption-free good governance worldwide.

Ashe was arrested along with Francis Lorenzo, the UN deputy ambassador from the Dominican Republic, who heads South-South News, a UN-accredited media outfit that reports on development issues.

The diplomat allegedly accepted bribes from the Chinese developer in exchange for helping promote the construction of a proposed UN conference center in Macao.

Source: AFP