UN Corruption Files: UN Knew Its Money Went To The LTTE But Hushed Up
Posted on July 6th, 2012
Uvindu Kurukulasuriya-CourtesyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Colombo Telegraph
A leaked UN email suggests that UN money went to LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Last May, Colombo Telegraph exposedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ how United Nations funds were paid to three Sri Lankan companies which were physically not contactable.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ US$ 1.57 million (ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ApproximatelyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ RS 167,000,000.00 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” valuation 2008) was paid to supply companies which theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United NationsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ could not contact.
Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general
The FAO in Sri Lanka purchased project deliveries for the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka to a value exceeding US$ 1.5 million from three suppliers, namely, Dev Trades, A. F. Associates and YCO Farm. These suppliers could not be found at their given registered addresses. Two FAO staff members Niranjala Gunaraj, Finance Assistant, and Thevarajah Vaigunthan, National Project Officer, both attached to the FAO Emergency Unit, collected the payments on behalf of these three companies.
We asked the UN to publish the report of the investigation it claimed to have carried out.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We wrote to the FAO Country Representative, Patrick Evans and Assistant FAO Representative (Administration), Dihan Hettige, asking what happened to the inquiry findings but they have so far failed to send us the investigation report.
Instead of making the report public Patrick Evans maintainsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The issue has been thoroughly investigated and addressed in a proper manner.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Quoting The Rome-based UN FAO headquarters spokespersonƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Italian InsiderƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ wrote;ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-corrective action was takenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ as soon as the problem was brought to light.
We wrote, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢Interestingly, Patrick has never denied they paid US$ 1.57 million to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ghostƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ companies.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ WeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ can categorically state that the UN FAO Country Representative is in a cover-up gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We asked more questions form Patrick Evans in an open reply but UN FAO has so far failed to respond.
The issue was not addressed in a proper manner. Patrick says: 1.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ no money was stolen or lost, 2.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ all inputs were delivered to the beneficiaries and were of suitable quality,3.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ no crime was committed, 4.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ transparent procurement procedures were not properly followed and 5.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ immediate action was taken to correct the situation including removal of the staff member involved and publication of an article in the local newspapers informing the public of the same.
Let us examine these responses one by one;ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
He accepts transparent procurement procedures were not properly followed. Why did the UN FAO organization fail to follow transparent procurement procedures? This is in itself a crime. He says, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”no money was stolen or lostƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. When you purchase goods from ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-GhostƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ companies where has the money gone? Today we can expose part of this corrupt deal. It shows where the money went. Bank details of one of these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ghostƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ companies, A. F. Associates shows that millions of rupees had been transferred to the personal accounts employees of the UNFAO.
Bank details showcasing transfers of monies from A.F Associates prove that millions of rupees were transferred to two employeesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ personnel accounts. In 2008 September and October alone A.F Associates transferred Rs.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 4.1 million to A. SivanandanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s personnel account in Jaffna and C.R. MosesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s personnel account in Batticaloa.
Evans says,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”all inputs were delivered to the beneficiaries and were of suitable qualityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. How can ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-GhostƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ companies deliver goods to beneficiaries? Where is the proof? PatrickƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s own files which were obtained by us shows low quality inputs were delivered to the beneficiaries; effectively cheating Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s poor ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the farmers ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” by supplying low quality seed and agricultural products.
An email dated October 1, 2008 from Benziger, from the FAO office in Trincomalee says;ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I regret to inform you that there are long term pending issues with procurement system connected to inferior quality of inputs, in which we brought this issue to Colombo level is not at the first time now. Anyhow, it is very much worrying that such issues is keep on continuing in the FAO system and expanded to other UN agencies. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.Further we came to know that the price different is unreasonable and price difference were very high ( please check with Poultry purchase order).ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
The point however is this. Patrick Evans says no crime was committed.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Is purchasing from ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-GhostƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ companies and paying for same not a fraud? Is fraud not a crime?
Evans also maintains that immediate action was taken to correct the situation including removal of the staff member involved and publication of an article in the local newspapers informing the public of the same.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Patrick is again misleading the public. If there was no crime committed why was the staff member removed from the organization and his contract not renewed? Why was there a delay in the publishing of such notice in a local newspaper and informing the public of the same? If he was involved in a fraud, why was he not reported to the Police or CID in Sri Lanka?
Immediate action was not taken. According to UN files, whistleblowers within the organisation kept raising these irregularities from 2006 onwards, but no action was taken until the end of 2008. In 2008, an inquiry was initiated through the FAO Headquarters Audit Department, where three officials, namely, Ms. Maria Carbone, Ms. Georgina Costello and Mr. Dennis Richards came to Sri Lanka to conduct the inquiry.
On May 10, 2009 UN FAO placed an advertisement in the Sunday Observer business page with a photograph of Thevarajah Vaigunathan and said ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-This serves to inform the general public that Mr. Thevarajah Vaigunathan former National Project Officer of the Food and Agricultural Oraganisation (FAO) of the United Nations, is no longer employed by FAO, and FAO is not liable for any of his transactions/actions.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
So, is this enough? Was it only Vaigunathan who was involved in this fraud? Who are the others? Why did not the UN hand over the investigations to the police?
With FAO denying there was no crime committed, and with all the other staff both in the office and in the field intact how could the FAO played a major role in supporting the re-settlement process in the north and east of Sri Lanka assisting returning IDPs to resume productive livelihoods? What is the assurance of the quality of the assistance provided and that there was no further fraud?
This issue is about accountability for the funds received for the development of Sri Lanka. Evans says, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the FAO continues to assist the Government to addressing priority needs in the agriculture, fisheries, livestock and forestry sectors.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Why was the Government not informed of the said fraud when it was clear that there were many staff members both local and foreign involved?
This is the level of UN transparency and accountability. This in fact undermines the UNƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s system of independent investigations.
We managed to find one reason why the UN FAO is covering up the whole corruption saga.
This week we can revel another ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ConfidentialƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ email sent to FAO Country Representative, Patrick Evans byƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Assistant FAO Representative (Administration), Dihan Hettige. On October 4, 2008 Dihan Hettige wroteƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-We have confidentially checked with our personal contacts from the main commercial Banks to find that Mr. Thevarajah VAIGUNATHAN (National Identity Card No 723580277) in one of the 2 partners of M/S Dev Traders. All of the above establishments are formed after Vaigunathan was transferred to Colombo in 2006. On the whole apart from the tsunami rehabilitation, more than 1/3 of the total procurement has been done through this handful of suppliers mentioned above. As per the recent confidential information received the other companies are run by his family members/close relatives. As per our investigations these companies do not exist in reality. The phone numbers quoted are unanswered and the addresses quoted are bogus. When I had inquired about the suppliers sometime back, his reply was that the suppliers do not want to reveal their identity due to security reasons (including that the mentioned suppliers are directly connected to LTTE). I too have sufficient information to believe that Vaigunathan is directly connected to the LTTE, with his capabilities of operating in the LTTE controlled areas easily.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I believe if an investigation is sensed by him or the connected individuals, they might disappear suddenly and FAO might not be able to operate in the uncleared areas thereafter. Also not ruling out the danger of having the details exposed to the Government of Sri Lanka, which could bring long term bad reputation to FAO.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
TheƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ FAO Country Representative, Patrick Evans replied within two minutes;ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Thanks Dihan, letƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s keep this to ourselves for the present and consider our options. Patrick
It is clearƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Assistant FAO Representative (Administration), Dihan Hettige, encouraged FAO headquarters to bury this incident. Was it only this LTTE connection or to protect FAO reputation? We can categorically say the FAO investigation team has not investigated the bank accounts of its employees and bank accounts of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-GhostƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ companies. If you investigate those bank accounts you will definitely find that the money not only went to LTTE but to high profile employees as well.
Related posts;
UN Corruption Files: UN Replied
USD 1.6 Million UN Corruption Files: UN In A Cover-Up Game
July 6th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
It is way, way about time that the Sri Lankan government stood up and address the world, loudly and clearly. SL politicians seem oblivious to the evils that are being concocted by parties with vested interests, against Sri Lanka, abroad. I hate to point this out, but our diplomats, too, are pathetically silent and unaggressive. I hope that ‘training’ session to which all foreign diplomats have been summoned to recently, will do some good.
Upto now, most of the counter-actions for actions against Sri Lanka by ltte-funded western politicians have been carried out by a few dedicated expatriates, who work day and night in addition to their jobs. If these patriots had access to money like the ltte-diaspora, they would have access to the media as well, since money talks when it comes to international media.
Would the GoSL fund these expatriate groups? Millions of dollars of Sri Lankan money are being spent to maintain diplomatic missions abroad, with little or no benefit to the country. I am sure that even a small portion of this money given to these patriotic expatriate groups, who are honest and upright, for the fight against ltte-fabrications and propaganda, would result in big dividends to our country.
July 7th, 2012 at 5:10 am
As a member country Sri lankan Governement should take all possible steps to attack in full scale at UN officials.