Money Laundering

Vadim Kouznetsov, the head of the UN General Assembly panel that oversees the UN budget, has been arrested by the FBI on charges of money laundering.^[1] While Mr. Kouznetsov is the second UN official in a month to be arrested on charges of money laundering, this arrest seems to be only remotely related to the Oil-for-Food program scandal that led to the arrest of Alexander Yakovlev.^[2] Mr. Kouznetsov’s diplomatic immunity was waived by Kofi Annan on Thursday afternoon.^[3]

Mr. Kouznetsov is expected to be arraigned this afternoon, at which point more details about what charges he may be facing will be available.^[4]

However, for a little more information on money laundering, please see our post about Judge Gross, here.

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[1] Pat Milton, Law Enforcement Official: Russian U.N. Official Arrested, Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2005, available here.
[2] Id. For more information on Mr. Yakovlev, please see our posts about his arrest and subsequent guilty plea here, here, and here.
[3] Pat Milton, Russian U.N. Official Arrested on Money Laundering Charges, Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2005, not yet available online.
[4] Id.