U.N. ex-employee in NKorea seeks whistleblower protection amid finances probe
By Associated Press
July 6, 2007
UNITED NATIONS: The former operations officer for the U.N. anti-poverty agency in North Korea says he is seeking whistleblower protection from the United Nations because he lost his job for raising serious allegations about its financial transactions in the reclusive communist nation.
Artjon Shkurtaj said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday that he went to the former U.N. management chief and the U.S. government after his bosses at the U.N. Development Fund failed to act on his allegations.
When he asked what to do with counterfeit U.S. dollars he found in the office safe on his first day in Pyongyang on Nov. 4, 2004, Shkurtaj said he never got a response — and when he complained that paying all North Korean salaries and program expenses in hard currency, namely euros, instead of local currency was against U.N. rules, he said he was told "not to rock the boat."
The U.N. Development Fund on Friday disputed Shkurtaj's allegations that he was subject to retaliation because he raised concerns about the agency's operations in North Korea.
"UNDP has looked into this claim and based on available information found it to be without basis," UNDP spokesman David Morrison told a news conference. "UNDP has invited the individual to submit all relevant information to the UNDP office charged with undertaking internal inquiries, but he has so far declined to do so."
U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said the U.N. Ethics Office was considering a request by the former UNDP employee seeking whistleblower protection.
Two U.S. Republican lawmakers — Sen. Norm Coleman and House Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, have sent letters to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging him to intervene and ensure that Shkurtaj is not punished for raising serious concerns about U.N. operations in North Korea.
The whistleblower issue comes on the heels of U.S. allegations that UNDP had funneled millions of dollars in hard currency to North Korea with little assurance that Kim Jong Il used the money to help his people instead of diverting it to "illicit purposes," including developing nuclear weapons.
Shkurtaj, an Albanian, said when he went to the U.S. government in July 2006, U.S. officials asked UNDP two questions: Was there counterfeit money in the safe in Pyongyang and was UNDP operating in hard currency?
In late March, UNDP announced that U.N. and U.S. authorities were investigating how US$3,500 in suspected counterfeit US$100 bills ended up sitting in a safe in the UNDP office in North Korea for 12 years.
An initial U.N. audit ordered by the secretary-general in response to the U.S. allegations reported in June that U.N. agencies paid North Korean staff and suppliers in euros without approval and hired only government-approved staff in violation of U.N. procedures.
After the U.S. raised new allegations, Ban said he would ask U.N. budget officials to approve a further probe by the auditors, who were unable to visit Pyongyang.
Morrison said the former UNDP worker — whom he did not name — was interviewed by the external auditors and met with UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis.
"A lot of what he says, frankly, we're not going to be able to settle on until auditors or independent authorities have access to the documentation which remains in Pyongyang," Morrison said.
He said if the audit does not continue, UNDP will bring the records out of Pyongyang "to settle these questions once and for all."
Shkurtaj said the UNDP records from Pyongyang should be brought back and opened to anyone to examine to see where every penny was spent — and he said they should have been returned months ago.
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Senator Tom Coburn
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security
340 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2254 Fax: 202-228-3796
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