A key report on the Iraqi oil-for-food program next week is expected to clear UN secretary general Kofi Annan from personal wrongdoing but fault him for ignoring his son's work for a firm that sought a UN contract, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Paul Volcker, the former US Federal Reserve chairman appointed by Mr Annan to investigate corruption in the program, is due to issue an interim report on Tuesday that will focus on whether the secretary-general influenced the bidding process in the UN-administered program, which ran from 1996 to 2003.
A big problem for the secretary general is expected to be the actions of his son Kojo, who worked in West Africa for the Swiss firm Cotecna Inspection, S.A., which received a lucrative contract from the United Nations for Iraq in early 1999.
The report said Mr Annan would be faulted for not paying attention to conflicts of interest involving his son, Kojo, who used his father's name and position for personal gains while with Cotecna.
At the same time, the panel is expected to conclude there is no evidence Mr Annan rigged the UN's procurement system or exerted undue influence over contractors or ever sought financial benefits.