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The UN turned a blind eye to signs that Saddam was bribing cronies at home and abroad with black market oil vouchers, and was skimming billions from funds meant for food and medicine, demanding secret, 10 per cent “kickbacks” on humanitarian contracts.
The UN recently claimed it “learned of the 10 per cent kickback scheme only after the end of major combat operations” in 2003.
A lie, said Mr Soussan, recalling the hapless Swedish company that called in 2000, seeking UN help after being asked to pay kickbacks. The Swedes’ plea was quickly lost in red tape and inter-office turf wars. After a “Kafka-esque” flurry of internal memos, the Swedes were told to complain to their own government.
It did not help that, inside the Security Council, France, Russia and China openly opposed sanctions, threatening doom for any UN official tempted to blow the whistle on Saddam’s cheating.
“Most high level UN employees need to be on good terms with key countries in the Security Council if they want to have a career.”
Now top UN officials are under investigation. Mr Soussan hopes the shock will force a major debate on how to deal with rogue regimes.
“The oil-for-food programme was a deal with the devil. The problem is, that we didn’t act as if this was the devil, we acted as if this was a legitimate regime,” he said.
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