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UN bans two vendors following internal investigation

UN bans two vendors following internal investigation

Two vendors registered to sell goods to the United Nations – Cogim, S.p.A. and Avicos Insurance Company – have been removed from the Organization’s roster following an internal investigation, a spokesperson for the world body said today.

Responding to press questions, Michele Montas said the decision was made following consideration on Wednesday of several cases related to the conclusions reached through internal investigations by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) Procurement Task Force into the relationships between several vendors and a former UN official indicted by the US Southern District Attorney's Office.

Ms. Montas said that in light of the conclusions reached by the Procurement Task Force, the UN has decided to remove Cogim, S.p.A. and Avicos Insurance Company from the Vendor Database. She added that the UN has also prohibited the two companies from doing business with it as a result of inappropriate relationships between them and the indicted former UN official.

Ms. Montas also said that based on a related investigation by the Procurement Task Force, the UN has decided to suspend the registered vendors Corimec Italiana S.p.A and Volga Dnepr Airlines and its subsidiary, Volga-Dnepr (Ireland) Ltd. from the Vendor Database in light of alleged inappropriate relationships between them and a former UN official.

In September 2005, Vladimir Kuznetsov, the chairman of the UN’s Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), was arrested by US officials. The Secretary-General waived his immunity and the UN cooperated with the US in connection with its inquiry.

That case stemmed from another investigation by OIOS into then-UN Procurement Officer Alexander Yakovlev, who was accused of soliciting kickbacks by the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC), which probed mismanagement in the UN’s Iraq Oil-for-Food programme.