UN agency hit with fraud and corruption allegations at climate projects

The United Nations Development Programme is facing several allegations of fraud and corruption linked to the multibillion-dollar

Global Environment Facility.

A copy of a draft report by UNDP’s office of audit and investigations, described “financial misstatements”

worth millions of dollars across UNDP’s portfolio of GEF-funded projects around the world.

The report highlighted problems including signs of “fraudulent activities” at two country offices and “suspicions of collusion among

the various project managers” at another, without naming the countries.

“Issues identified by the audit could seriously compromise the achievement of the objectives of the audited entity,” the report said.

The GEF was set up as part of the World Bank to help fight environmental challenges such as deforestation, species

conservation and pollution. It has since split out to become an independent organization and disbursed more than $21

billion in 170 countries, including $7 billion in projects managed by the UNDP.

The audit of the UNDP’s GEF-funded projects —— comes against a backdrop of rising concern from some donor countries

over management and oversight issues at the UNDP.

An investigation by Foreign Policy published whistleblower accounts alleging the misappropriation of millions of dollars at

a UNDP-run GEF project in Russia. Twelve donor countries — including the U.S., France, Australia and Japan — have since sought

an independent review of the UNDP’s handling of that project, according to a letter seen by the FT.

“Matters of misconduct and misappropriation of funds continue to obstruct sustainable development across the world,” the

donors said in March in the letter to Achim Steiner, the UNDP administrator since 2017.

In a written response the UNDP said it “takes all cases of financial mismanagement and other irregularities extremely seriously”,

adding that its GEF projects were some of the organization’s “most closely monitored”.

While there have been “allegations of misuse of funds” at certain projects, such complaints affected “a tiny fraction —

1.4 per cent” of the UNDP’s GEF-funded portfolio, it added. The GEF did not respond to a request to comment for this article.

Other project audits from independent consultants as well as written complaints from current and former UNDP staff, all seen by

the FT, suggest that concerns over alleged financial misconduct and poor oversight at the UNDP may be widespread.

An independent review of a GEF-funded UNDP project in Uzbekistan, seen by the FT, warned that financial information

provided by the UNDP was not reliable and “must be questioned”. “As a further result, this [midterm review] is required, by

UNDP guidelines, to refer this project for a fraud investigation,” the draft report said.

According to another long-term external consultant to the UNDP, problems raised in project reviews frequently seemed

to be ignored by senior staff.

“I don’t understand some of the management responses that have been made,” said the consultant, who asked not to

be named. “We have an urgent climate crisis.”

The claims of misconduct at the UNDP are not the first allegations of impropriety linked to the UN’s climate work and

represent one of the many challenges facing the UN as it seeks to co-ordinate a global response to climate change.

The UN-backed, South Korea-based, Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest climate finance institution, has faced a recent wave

of internal misconduct complaints, including allegations of sexism and harassment in the workplace, the FT reported in August.

“The words ‘climate’ and ‘corruption’, people see these as two different worlds, but there is a lot of overlap,” said Brice Böhmer, the head of climate governance integrity at Transparency International, the global anti-corruption group.

there was a history of UNDP internal reviews avoiding “naming names”.

“No one is accountable, no one is responsible. The UNDP lets itself off the hook,” the person said, also asking not to be named.

“These funds are intended for the poorest of the poor . . . at what point will donors [to the GEF] decide to suspend funding?”

Transparency International’s Böhmer said governance at the GEF had improved in recent years, but noted that the GEF had

limited authority over UNDP projects, which are implemented according to UNDP standards. Böhmer has not seen the

audit of the UNDP’s GEF projects reviewed by the FT and could not comment on its details.

“When it comes to climate, we need to have much higher standards,” he said. “If it is a project that is supposed to

help an affected population adapt, then this is like penalizing them twice.”

United Nations is an oxymoron

corruption is everywhere

nwo

https://nationalpost.com/news/world/un-agency-hit-with-fraud-and-corruption-allegations-at-climate-projects