The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, asked a top official at a United Nations agency to resign on Saturday, shortly after The New York Times reported it. one article describes how the agency lent $61 million and funded a single British family, according to a senior United Nations official.
The United Nations Office of Project Services, a little-known body for operational projects, has ventured into territory where no UN agency has yet entered: working with the private sector for-profit in 2015 by acting as an investment bank. According to UN auditors, the country could now lose up to $22 million in bad debt.
According to some diplomats and staff, the scandal has shaken and shamed the UN at a time when it is calling for millions of dollars in aid from countries sponsoring the war in Ukraine and other conflicts. another crisis. An internal investigation into the transactions was completed on Thursday, but its findings have yet to be made public.
The United States, which sits on the UN agency’s executive board, says its leadership needs to address the allegations and be held accountable. In one a bunch of tweets On Sunday, Chris Lu, the US ambassador to the UN for governance and reform, called for a comprehensive review of the agency’s “business model, governance structure and staffing”.
“At a minimum, we believe that UNOPS leadership missed the clear warning signals, failed to put in place the necessary oversight, and took unacceptable risks with funds.” Mr. Lu tweeteduses the acronym Office for Project Services.
An official statement from Mr Guterres on Sunday said he had accepted the resignation of Grete Faremo, a former Norwegian minister and chief executive of the agency, who personally approved the loans. Ms. Faremo entrusted tens of millions of dollars to a British businessman, David Kendrick, after meeting him at a party in New York City in 2015. Ms. Faremo’s company also donated $3 million. for a group run by 22 Mr. Kendrick. – eldest 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 obtained by The Times, gave another reason for her resignation. She said she submitted her resignation on Friday because “without knowing the full story, it happened on my watch.”
“I accept my responsibility and have decided to resign,” she said.
Ms. Faremo appeared to blame her deputy, Vitaly Vanshelboim, who was placed on administrative leave in December as the United Nations investigated the transactions. After referring to the investigation and Mr. Vanshelboim, Ms. Faremo said that “a shocking breach of trust hurts, and it has profoundly shaken the organization”.
But the senior UN official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the file, said Ms. Faremo had been asked to resign. Guterres, the official said, decided to act quickly after the Times article was published to restore donor countries’ confidence in the organization.
United Nations Ambassador to Lebanon, Amal Mudallali, tweeted: “Unbelievable!! Who hires these UN officials? Why no oversight!!,” with a link to the Times article.
In fact, both Ms. Faremo and Mr. Vanshelboim are the highest-ranking officials at the UN 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 is effective as of Sunday. Mr. Guterres has appointed an interim director, Jens Wandel, while he searches for a replacement, the statement said.
Mr. Wandel “has a clear record of work on reforming the United Nations,” said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the United Nations. Mr. Wandel, a former UN employee from Denmark, is based in Denmark. agency headquarters, most recently as a special adviser to Mr. Guterres on reform.
It remains unclear whether Mr Wandel will be commissioned in his interim role to launch meaningful reforms. A senior United Nations official said any reshuffle or restructuring of the agency would be decided by its executive board, which includes a group of member states including the United States.
Lu said Sunday that the executive board had requested a full briefing with the agency to be held shortly.
A spokesman for the US mission to the UN said that a council meeting was scheduled for May 16 before Ms. Faremo’s resignation on Sunday and that the council was preparing for this in the meantime. further notice.
In a separate statement on Sunday, the UN agency said it did not have access to the UN’s internal investigative report and eagerly awaited the outcome of the investigation. It said it had “implemented continuity plans to ensure Ms Faremo’s departure would not affect the regular operations of the project.”
