UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The United Nations is considering an overall risk assessment and audit of all places the world organization and its programs use cash for payments.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement issued Monday by his spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said that as chairman of the Chief Executives Board for Coordination he has proposed the U.N. Board of Auditors be requested to undertake the study "in countries where issues of hard currency transactions, independence of staff hiring and access to reviewing local projects, are pertinent.
"Should the CEB and the Board of Auditors accept this proposal, action would be undertaken in stages with the first report," focusing on North Korea, Montas said.
The audit was to be completed within three months so it would be ready for the current U.N. General Assembly to take up later this year.
Since the issues also concern U.N. specialized agencies, the secretary-general intends to also ask the Panel of External Auditors to provide their input to the CEB "on system-wide aspects of the same set of issues to be reviewed by the Board of Auditors," the spokeswoman said. The second report would be due for the next GA session, starting in September.
The audits were sparked last week by reports UNDP programs were being funded by cash payments, leading to speculation the Pyongyang regime was diverting at least some of the money to its nuclear weapons research.
