Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
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UN Fraud Pursued Criminally UN Fraud Pursued Criminally
Reuters September 25, 1998 New York - The former chief of the United Nations Development Program housing section was arrested by FBI agents and charged with bid rigging Thursday for his role in overseeing UNDP-sponsored housing construction in Africa.
Krishna Gowandan, 57, was charged by the U.S. attorney for Manhattan with defrauding the U.N. out of more than $1.5 million between 1989 and late 1995 in a scheme to inflate costs and misappropriate United Nations funds.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Becker told Reuters the U.S. court has jurisdiction in the case because the United Nations is based in Manhattan and because the complaint alleged wire fraud between U.S.-based banks and overseas accounts.
The government also charged Ugandan architect Peter Kamya with participating in the fraud. Kamya was not arrested and resides in Africa, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
The complaint claimed Gowandan falsified bids, illegally awarded construction contracts to Kamya, a longtime friend, and submitted fraudulent invoices to the U.N. In addition, he is charged with receiving kickbacks from Kamya on the project.
Gowandan, a citizen of Trinidad & Tobago who lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, faces a maximum sentence of five years and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted on the charges.
The government said Gowandan was responsible for overseeing the construction of several housing projects for U.N. employees working in various African countries. It said that although the UNDP required a competitive bidding process, Gowandan fixed the process to insure that Kamya would win. It also said Kamya hired subcontractors that he controlled, and that they then overbilled the UNDP for the work performed.
Kamya, the complaint alleges, then funneled much of the inflated payments back to Gowandan through a series of transactions involving bank accounts in the Channel Islands.
According to the complaint, Gowandan was questioned by UN representatives in July 1996 and denied having received any payments from Kamya or any subcontractors. His home number is unpublished and he could not be reached for comment. He no longer works for the U.N.
