U.S. Charges Former Oil-For-Food Program Chief

January 17, 2007 -- U.S. prosecutors have indicted the former head of the UN's oil-for-food program in Iraq, Benon Sevan, on charges of bribery and conspiracy to commit fraud.

A second suspect, Ephraim Nadler, the brother-in-law of former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, was also charged.

Prosecutors say Nadler helped channel some $160,000 in bribes to Sevan on behalf of the Iraqi government.

Another 12 officials are already facing corruption charges related to the oil-for-food program, which was set up in the 1990s to alleviate the humanitarian impact of sanctions against the government of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

(AP, AFP, Reuters)