Sevan Denies; Punishment May Be Tough

Maggie Farley's report in the LATimes today on Oil-For-Food is a good supplement to my posts (here, here, here, here). Here's some scoop she got on main alleged bad guy Benon Sevan:

But Annan's new chief of staff, Mark Malloch Brown, acknowledged that the punishment applicable to Sevan, who is all but retired, was limited. The U.N. retains Sevan on a $1-a-year salary to make him available to investigators; that dollar also buys him diplomatic immunity.

On Thursday, Sevan's lawyer issued a lengthy denial.

"It is unfortunate that the [panel] has succumbed to massive political pressure and now seeks to scapegoat [Mr. Sevan] for problems within the oil-for-food program," the statement said. "Mr. Sevan never took a penny."

Sure. He got it from his rich aunt.