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Vladimir Kuznetsov was the head of the United Nations Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Issues. He has been indicted after taking $1 million bribes from the UK catering giant company, the Compass Group. United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...
The British company Compass Group is one of the largest food service businesses in the world. ...
A corrupted U.N. official
Kuznetsov was indicted in September 2005. He was charged with money laundering (at least $1m in bribes from foreign companies seeking contracts with the world body). He is said to have laundered this money on behalf of Russian U.N. Procurement officer Alexander Yakovlev (UN procurement), from U.N. Procurement contracts, notably for Compass Group's subsidiary Eurest Support Services and for the Oil-for-Food Programme. Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the identity, source and destination of the money in question. ...
Alexander Yakovlev was a long serving tenured member of the United Nations procurement department (since 1985). ...
The British company Compass Group is one of the largest food service businesses in the world. ...
The Oil-for-Food Programme, established by the United Nations in 1995 (under UN Security Council Resolution 986) and terminated in late 2003, was intended to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing...
Vladimir Kuznetsov has also been named in recent lawsuits by Swiss catering group Supreme Foodservice AG, and Monaco-based Es-Ko International, relating to the U.N. Procurement contracts. Kuznetsov set up an offshore company, Moxyco, and opened a bank account in its name in the Caribbean island of Antigua. Alexander Yakovlev (UN procurement), then transferred the funds into that account between 2000 and 2005. After Yakovlev told him of the secret payments, Kuznetsov agreed to take a share of the money rather than turn him in to the authorities, a spokesperson said. Alexander Yakovlev was a long serving tenured member of the United Nations procurement department (since 1985). ...
The FBI arrested the Russian diplomat, who chairs the United Nations' powerful budget oversight committee. He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in Manhattan federal court and was released on a $1.5 million bond and agreement to surrender his travel documents.
Background Kuznetsov was elected to a three-year term on the budget advisory committee in January 2003. The prestigious panel’s 15 members, including a representative of the United States, then elected him as its chairman. He has worked in various budget-related positions in the U.N. Secretariat and the Russian Mission since 1980. The chairman is the only member of the ACABQ to draw a U.N. salary and benefits, and also gets diplomatic immunity. Committee members are not UN employees and do not normally enjoy diplomatic immunity. But the General Assembly granted him immunity because of his chairmanship. This diplomatic immunity was waived however, in August, by the UN.
Russian authorities paid to have Kuznetsov released from the Manhattan prison; however he must remain under house-arrest during the court proceedings, until at least April 2006, when the next court session will be held. All Kuznetsov’s movements are being monitored by electronic bracelet.
External links - Compass Group PLC - Official site
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