Friday, September 02, 2005

Another shoe drops on the U.N.'s head

The punch-drunk United Nations, suffering one uppercut after another, just absorbed another. A Russian U.N. official connected to the U.N.'s budget administration was arrested in New York by the FBI on federal money laundering charges. Vladimir Kuznetsov, head of the General Assembly's Administrative and Budgetary Committee since January 2004, was ordered released on $1.5 million personal recognizance bond. What does that mean? Does that mean that after he flees to Russia he will owe U.S. Magistrate-Judge Michael Dolinger $1.5 million?

Kuznetzov is accused of laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.N. purchasing contract kickbacks being made to a co-conspirator who is cooperating with authorities. Drip, drip, drip.

I would assume that the Russians as well as the U.N. agreed to waive diplomatic immunity or he couldn't have been arrested at all. I would further assume that the waiving of diplomatic immunity means that if he does flee to his native Russia he will be returned. I would assume.

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