Cotecna E-Mail Memo Shows Connection To Kofi Annan

For months, Kofi Annan has denied any connection between the UN Oil-for-Food contractor and himself through his son Kojo. The Secretary-General has gone so far as to state that he never met with Cotecna on OFF business and only had the most general of information from his son. However, Cotecna has found an e-mail that indicates their executives did indeed meet with Kofi, making his earlier denials look more and more suspicious:

A memo written by someone who was then an executive of a major contractor in the United Nations oil-for-food program states that he briefly discussed the company's effort to win the contract in late 1998 with Secretary General Kofi Annan and his "entourage" and that the executive was told that "we could count on their support."

The secretary general's son, Kojo Annan, was employed by Cotecna Inspection Services, a Swiss contractor based in Geneva, and the nature of that relationship is among the issues being investigated by a panel appointed by the United Nations and several Congressional committees.

Kofi Annan has said several times that he did not discuss the contract with his son and was not involved in Cotecna's selection. A United Nations panel headed by Paul A. Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, concluded in March that Mr. Annan had not influenced the awarding of the $10 million dollar-a-year contract to the company. ...

The memo, written on Dec. 4, 1998, by Michael R. Wilson, then a Cotecna vice president who was Kojo Annan's friend and a family friend of the secretary general, describes a meeting that took place during the 20th summit meeting of Francophone leaders in Paris in late November 1998.

"We had brief discussions with the SG and his entourage," the memo states. "Their collective advise was that we should respond as best as we could to the Q & A session of the 1-12-98 and that we could count on their support."

The "1-12-98" refers to a meeting Mr. Wilson and a delegation of Cotecna officials had in New York on Dec. 1, 1998, with senior United Nations officials who were considering which of three companies to select for the inspection contract that Cotecna won 10 days later.

The memo does not state that Kojo Annan was present at the discussion with the secretary general. But it continues with a description of "courtesy greetings" on behalf of Cotecna with presidents of several African countries held by a person identified as "KA" at the summit meeting. Asked for comment, a consultant for the company said it appeared that Mr. Wilson was referring to Kojo Annan in the memo.

The memo is attached to an e-mail message sent by Mr. Wilson to the company's owners and senior executives. It is dated Dec. 4, 1998, a week before Cotecna was informed that it had won the contract to inspect goods purchased by Iraq under the program, which allowed Iraq to sell some of its oil to meet needs of its civilian population despite United Nations sanctions.

So it appears that Kofi has not been honest with investigators to this point. No one with a brain believed his denials anyway, but this confirms that he has lied about his association with Cotecna and the role his son played in getting the Oil-For-Food contract. Kofi, Kojo, and Cotecna appear to have participated in a broad cover-up of the Secretary-General's role in ensuring his son's company controlled the Oil-for-Food program.

Now the question remains: why?

Since the SG and Cotecna took such pains to keep their meetings and arrangements hidden, it would follow that the relationship between Cotecna and the Annans had more than just coincidence as a product. My guess is that more money than just Kojo's $2500 per month is involved in this transaction and cover-up. Cotecna's records might show even more surprises in the coming weeks.

hat-tip Captain's Quarters