KOJO CASHED IN ON DADDY, NOTES REVEAL
New York Post ^ | 12/02/04 | NILES LATHEM
 

 
 

WASHINGTON — The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan used his father's worldwide connections to wheel and deal with heads of state — at U.N. gatherings — on behalf of a controversial Swiss company that won a lucrative oil-for-food program contract, The Post has learned.
The intense lobbying by Annan's 29-year old son, Kojo, was disclosed in a raft of internal company documents — including Kojo Annan's expense reports — that the company recently turned over to congressional committees under a subpoena.

The memos provide the most revealing look to date at the business conflicts that are now at center stage of history's biggest financial scandal. They also place the younger Annan and his father far closer to each other than the U.N. has previously disclosed.

According to records reviewed by The Post, Kojo Annan, while working for the Cotecna firm, enjoyed extraordinary access to U.N. diplomats and other international dignitaries because of his father's position.

Kofi Annan had claimed earlier this week that he did not know the full extent of his son's dealings with Cotecna.

But the documents indicate that the son of the U.N. secretary-general was clearly trading on his father's name to win business for Cotecna, where he worked from 1995 to 1998.

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In New York in September 1998, Kojo Annan also held a series of meetings with heads of state and government ministers — primarily from Africa — to drum up business for Cotecna Inspection Services SA during the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly.

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Kojo Annan's activities caught the U.N. off guard last night. "We are unaware of this. This is the first we are hearing of it," a spokesman said.
 
 
 

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