{"id":39886,"date":"2012-04-26T14:29:45","date_gmt":"2012-04-26T14:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=39886"},"modified":"2012-04-28T23:42:38","modified_gmt":"2012-04-28T23:42:38","slug":"usd-1-6-million-un-corruption-filesfao-says-we-certainly-acknowledge-that-misconduct-took-place-the-italian-insider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/usd-1-6-million-un-corruption-filesfao-says-we-certainly-acknowledge-that-misconduct-took-place-the-italian-insider\/","title":{"rendered":"USD 1.6 Million UN Corruption Files:FAO Says ‘We Certainly Acknowledge That Misconduct Took Place’ – The Italian Insider"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By ALYX BARKER –<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>ROME\/April 26, 2012 — The FAO spent as much as dlrs 1.57 million procuring supplies from fake companies set up by an employee of the UN agency in Sri Lanka, officials say.<\/p>\n

A note circulated in the agency from Food and Agriculture Organisation\u2019s (FAO) Sri Lanka representative, Patrick Evans, dated Oct. 13, 2008, published on Sri Lankan news site The Colombo Telegraph this month<\/a><\/span>, said that there were \u201cproblems\u201d with some of the seed supply companies, \u201cboth addresses and phone numbers do not appear to be real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evans spotted the issue less than three months after taking the lead in the Sri Lanka office, though according to FAO the problem had been present for two years.<\/p>\n

An FAO spokesman said the employee responsible was \u201cvery effective at deflecting queries about procurement questions, and the personnel who were temporarily in charge of the office failed to perceive the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same document, Evans wrote that a Mr Thevarajah Vaigunthan had been suspended with pay and FAO have confirmed that an employee was fired due to the incident. A spokesperson said that Vaugunthan was also barred from the premises and asked not to have contact with the office.<\/p>\n

The Colombo Telegraph<\/a><\/span> named three suppliers, as Dev Trades, A. F. Associates and YCO Farm, but according to the UN agency, four companies were involved.<\/p>\n

An agency spokesman confirmed to Italian Insider that \u201cit seems that there was a problem with how seeds were procured in Sri Lanka during the 2006-2008 period.\u201d The spokesperson added that \u201ccorrective action was taken\u201d as soon as the problem was caught.<\/p>\n

An internal investigation found that four companies had been \u201cfavoured\u201d when making contracts for seed purchase and delivery. \u201cThese companies were created and managed by a local FAO employee (no longer employed by us) in collusion with friends and family. They received favourable treatment when competing for FAO contracts due to this individual’s ability to manipulate the system as an insider.\u201d<\/p>\n

The value of contracts that were handled by the FAO employee in question totalled 1.57 million US dollars, approximately 1.2 million euros.<\/p>\n

The Colombo Telegraph<\/a><\/span> reported that another worker had been involved, but FAO maintain that only one individual associated with the agency was found to be responsible.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson continued that though those companies did not have a fixed headquarters, they had filed the required paperwork to establish themselves as legal entities according to national laws.<\/p>\n

According to the FAO the companies did also actually procure and deliver seed and \u201call seed and supplies needed during the period in question were acquired, in the necessary amounts and delivered to the intended beneficiaries within the intended timeframes.\u201d A spokesperson acknowledged that this \u201cdoes not negate the improper handling of bids,\u201d however.<\/p>\n

The Rome-based agency ruled that \u201cthe involved individual had dishonestly manipulated the FAO procurement system and had violated FAO rules on several counts, which justified termination on disciplinary grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

FAO stressed that the core problem was not that money was diverted or that FAO did not perform, rather, it was that \u201cthe way FAO was performing was not correct. These four companies were winning contracts unfairly in a non-competitive process, that the ex-employee in question was personally involved with them and steered contracts their way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe certainly acknowledge that misconduct took place and regret that improper behaviour by one individual in the procurement of agricultural inputs went undetected, and have taken steps to ensure that such a situation can never repeat itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the positive side, we can also report that Sri Lanka\u2019s latest maha paddy harvest is the largest ever recorded, thanks in part to FAO provided seed for over 100,000 acres of land.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Italian Insider<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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