UN chief''s son received cash from companies in probe

LONDON, Sept 7 (KUNA) -- Kojo Annan, son of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, received more than 750,000 dollars from several oil trading companies now under investigation for their role in the UN's oil-for-food programme (OFFP) for Iraq, it was revealed here Wednesday.

The funds were dispatched between 2002 and 2003 to an account Kojo Annan opened under his middle name ''Adeyemo'' in a Swiss branch of Coutts bank, according to people familiar with the transactions and records from two of the companies that issued the payments.

The payments, discovered by the Financial Times newspaper in a joint investigation with "Il Sole 24 Ore", the Italian business daily, appear to be connected to oil deals in the west African market, the Financial Times (FT) said.

In a statement, Kojo Annan's lawyer stressed they were not related to the oil-for-food programme.

"Our client has never personally received any money from oil trading under the OFFP", she said.

The lawyer added that Annan was a director of "Petroleum Projects International", a Nigerian company that dealt in west African oil and gas markets, not crude oil that was traded in the oil-for-food programme.

Sources told the FT and Il Sole 24 Ore that all the companies that sent money to Annan were now the subject of inquiries by the US Congress and the committee led by Paul Volcker for violating UN sanctions against Iraq.

One of these companies was already the target of multiple investigations when the payment was made.

The disclosure of these payments is therefore potentially embarrassing to the UN Secretary General.

Today, the Volcker Committee will issue its latest report, which will focus on the management of the programme by Annan and his top aides, the FT concluded.(end) he.