UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Investigators probing the UN oil-for-food program said in a report released Tuesday that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was not involved in the scandal but criticized him for failing to take heed of a conflict of interest with his son's employer in the bidding process.

    "In light of a newspaper article in January 1999, and the complaint of a conflict of interest because of Kojo Annan's employment ... the inquiry initiated by the Secretary-General into these matters was inadequate. Had there been such an investigation, it is unlikely that Cotecna would have been awarded renewal of its contracts with the UN," the report said.

    The report said there is no evidence that the selection of Cotecna in the 1998 bidding of the UN oil-for-food program was subject to affirmative or improper influence of the UN chief.

    "Having weighed all the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses, the evidence is not reasonably sufficient to show that the Secretary-General knew in 1998 that Cotecna was bidding on the humanitarian contact," the report said.

    The oil-for-food program was the largest UN humanitarian aid operation, running from 1996-2003. Cotecna, a Swiss company that employed Kojo Annan, Kofi Annan's son, was awarded 60-million-dollar contract in the bidding. Enditem