The UN pledged on Friday to repay the World Bank, the US and other donor nations for a former UN official? alleged misappropriation of at least US$480,000 from a fund for rebuilding Afghanistan.
The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Afghanistan said it would ?eimburse any money owed to its clients as a result of errors or misuse.?br />
It also promised to ?ake all steps possible to make good any outstanding damages?because of the alleged financial wrongdoing by the office? former head, Gary Helseth, between 2002 and 2006.
?he alleged misuse of UNOPS funds and breaches of accounting and procurement policies are grave charges,?the office said in a statement issued on its Web site.
A confidential investigation by the UN Procurement Task Force, which disbanded on Dec. 31, accuses Helseth of using the money to fuel a lavish lifestyle that 虹ncluded hundreds of thousands of dollars from the US Agency for International Development that were spent on rent, home renovations, a luxury car, lavish meals and first-class plane tickets.
It also says Helseth stole US$65,000 outright in cash from a UN safe, according to a copy of the report reviewed by The Associated Press.
?he overarching thesis of this investigation is that Mr Helseth routinely treated UNOPS and project money as his own personal bank account,?the report said.
The investigation into Helseth and the UNOPS funds was first reported by the Washington Post on Friday, prompting the response from UNOPS.
Helseth? attorney, Paul Charlton, based in Phoenix, Arizona, did not immediately return a phone message and e-mail seeking comment.
But in a 72-page response to the investigation, Charlton wrote that Helseth acknowledged some of the USAID money was improperly used but that he justified some of the spending because of the difficulties of doing business in Afghanistan, and denied stealing the money or committing fraud or embezzlement, the Post reported.
UNOPS said it initiated the investigation in late 2006, after staff alerted senior management of possible irregularities.
The investigation? conclusions are now being studied by the UN? Office of Legal Affairs. The task force recommended that the UN refer the case for possible criminal prosecution by US and Afghan authorities.
The UN Development Program, of which UNOPS was a part until 1995, also had investigated Helseth? financial activities and issued a report on it in March 2007 finding that Helseth converted funds to his own use and inappropriately charged personal expenses to UNOPS in 2004 and 2005.
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