UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked a senior UN agency official to resign on Saturday shortly after The New York Times published an article describing how the agency lent $ 61 million and lent money to a single British family, according to a senior UN official.
The UN Office for Project Services, a little-known operational project agency, has ventured into a territory no other UN agency has entered: join forces with the private profit sector in 2015, working as an investment bank. It could now lose up to $ 22 million in bad debts, according to UN auditors.
The scandal shook and embarrassed the UN, according to several diplomats and officials, as it called for millions of dollars in aid from donor countries to the war in Ukraine and other crises. An internal investigation into the transactions ended on Thursday, but his findings were not made public.
The United States, which is on the UN agency’s executive board, has said its leadership must respond to the allegations and be held accountable. In a series of tweets on Sunday, Chris Lou, the US ambassador to the United Nations for governance and reform, called for a comprehensive review of the agency’s “business model, governance structure and staff.”
“At the very least, we believe that UNOPS management has missed clear warnings, failed to provide the necessary oversight, and taken unacceptable risks with funds,” tweeted Lou, using the acronym for Project Services.
An official statement from Guterres on Sunday said he had accepted the resignation of Grete Faremo, a former Norwegian minister and executive director of the agency, which personally approved the loans. Ms. Faremo had entrusted tens of millions of dollars to British businessman David Kendrick after meeting him at a party in New York in 2015. Ms. Faremo’s agency also donated $ 3 million to a group run by the 22- and Mr. Kendrick. -year-old daughter Daisy to raise awareness of threats to the world’s oceans.
Ms Faremo, in a letter sent to her staff early Sunday morning and received by The Times, offered a different description of her resignation. She said she resigned on Friday because “without knowing the whole story, it happened on my watch.”
“I acknowledge my responsibility and decided to resign,” she said.
Ms. Faremo appears to be blaming her deputy, Vitaly Vanshelboim, who was released on administrative leave in December while the UN was investigating the transactions. Referring to the investigation and Mr Wanschelboim, Ms Faremo said that “a shocking breach of trust hurts and shook the organization deeply”.
But a senior UN official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak in the minutes, said Ms Faremo had been told to resign. Mr Guterres, the official said, decided to act quickly after a Times article appeared in an attempt to restore donor confidence in the organization.
Lebanon’s ambassador to the UN, Amal Mudalali, wrote on Twitter: “Amazing !! Who hires these UN staff? Why no supervision !! “, with a link to the Times article.
In fact, both Ms Faremo and Mr Wanschelboim were among the highest-ranking UN officials and were appointed by Mr Guterres.
In his statement, Mr Guterres said he was grateful for Ms Faremo’s commitment and dedication to the organization. Her resignation took effect on Sunday. Mr Guterres has appointed interim director Jens Vandel as he seeks a replacement, the statement said.
Mr Vandel “has clear experience in his work on UN reform,” said Farhan Haq, the UN’s deputy spokesman. Mr Guterres’ special adviser on reforms.
It remains unclear whether Mr Vandel will have the mandate in his temporary role to initiate meaningful reforms. A senior UN official said any reform or restructuring of the agency would be at the discretion of its executive board, which consists of a group of member states, including the United States.
Mr Lou said on Sunday that the executive board had requested a full briefing with the agency, which would take place soon.
A spokesman for the US mission to the UN said a briefing on the board was scheduled for May 16, before Ms. Faremo resigned on Sunday, and that the board was preparing for it pending further notification.
In a separate statement Sunday, the UN agency said it did not have access to the UN internal investigation report and looked forward to its findings. It said it was “already implementing succession plans to ensure that Ms Faremo’s departure does not affect regular project activities”.
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