UNITED NATIONS, Jan 25 (AFP) - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was questioned by the independent commission he set up to investigate the oil-for-food in Iraq program scandal, his spokesman said Tuesday.
"He has met more than once for an extended period of time with Mr. Volcker and his investigators, so yes, the Secretary General is part of the investigation, is a subject like anyone else involved in the oil for food in the secretariat," his spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters.
"He has been questioned and most likely will continue to be questioned as Mr Volcker's investigation continues," adding of the questioning: "I think it might have been twice. I know it's at least once."
Paul Volcker, a former US federal reserve chairman, leads the commision which is expected to deliver a preliminary report in late January or early February.
Oil-for-food, the UN's largest aid program ever, was set up to monitor the purchase of humanitarian supplies by Saddam Hussein's government, which was under sanctions for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Funded by oil sales, the goods were intended to ease the impact of sanctions on ordinary Iraqis. UN oversight was supposed to keep revenues from the 64-billion-dollar program out of the pockets of Saddam Hussein's government, which is believed to have skimmed billions of dollars.
Audits of the program released this month show that contractors pocketed millions of dollars in excess charges as UN officials failed to properly oversee the operation.
The UN official who ran the 1996-2003 program, Benon Sevan, has denied any wrongdoing.
Several US lawmakers and media have called for Annan to step down over the scandal.
01/25/2005 20:05 GMT - AFP