BATMAN
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Ex-UN official, an Indian, convicted of fraud and bribery
http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10368&Itemid=2
http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10368&Itemid=2
NEW YORK, June 8 (APP) - A former UN procurement official, Sanjaya Bahel of India, was convicted in a fraud and corruption scandal on Thursday for helping a fellow Indian secure nearly $100 million in UN contracts.Bahel, 57, and his co-defendant, Nishan Kohli, a principal of a company that did business with the UN and who pleaded guilty to bribing the ex-UN official and testified against him in exchange for a lenient sentence.Bahel was taken into custody in the Manhattan federal courtroom following the verdict and faces up to 20 years in prison for four counts of fraud, five years for one count of conspiracy and 10 years on one charge of accepting corrupt payments.
In a statement on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "satisfied that justice has been done," in the Bahel conviction, and praised the UN internal investigation mechanism for helping the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York in developing the case.
"In continuing these investigations, the United Nations stands ready to cooperate with law enforcement authorities in every concerned member state," he said.
Prosecutors had accused Bahel of giving contracts to two companies represented by longtime family friend Kohli -- the Indian government-owned Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. and Thunderbird Industries LLC.
The telecommunications company secured a number of contracts during Bahel's tenure that totaled $50 million in value, prosecutors said.
The United Nations also awarded Thunderbird a three-year contract worth $12 million, though the contract was canceled for reasons unrelated to Bahel.
In return, prosecutors said, Bahel was awarded 10 percent of Kohli's profits earned through UN business, first-class plane tickets and reduced prices as a renter, and then buyer, of a luxury apartment close to the UN headquarters in Manhattan.
Defence lawyer Richard Herman had accused prosecutors of a "witch hunt" against Bahel aiming to repair the public relations damage done to the United Nations over other scandals including the Iraq oil-for-food investigation.
Kohli testified at the trial that he gave Bahel cash and the apartment deal and also paid off other officials with visits to strip clubs and prostitutes.
"The secretary-general very much appreciates the diligence and effort put into this case by the US Attorney's office," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. "The secretary-general remains committed to actively pursuing any fraud and wrongdoing at the United Nations."
Bahel was formally charged with misconduct by the world body on August 31, 2006 and his immunity was waived from legal process by former UN chief Kofi Annan under a request from the U.S. authorities.
