UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Investigators probing the UN oil-for-food program in Iraq released its latest interim report Tuesday.

    The report focused on a possible conflict of interest arising from the 1998 award of a humanitarian goods inspection contract to Swiss firm Cotecna, which employed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's son Kojo Annan.

    Though Annan was cleared of any personal wrongdoing in the oil-for-food corruption scandal, he was criticized for failing to detect and stop a conflict of interest posed by his son.

    The following are the main points of the report.

    KOFI ANNAN

    -- No evidence that the selection of Cotecna in 1998 was subject to any affirmative or improper influence of the secretary-general in the bidding or selection process.

    -- Insufficient evidence to show Annan knew in 1998 that Cotecna was bidding on the humanitarian inspection contract.

    -- The inquiry initiated by Annan into these matters was inadequate. He should have referred the matter to an appropriate UN department for a thorough and independent investigation.

¡¡¡¡KOJO ANNAN

    -- Cotecna made false statements to the public, the UN and the investigators by asserting that Kojo Annan had resigned his consultancy in 1998.

    -- Kojo "actively participated" in the efforts by Cotecna to conceal their continuing relations after the media disclosed his employment by the company in January 1999.

    -- Kojo "intentionally deceived" the secretary general about his continuing financial relationship with Cotecna.

    -- "Significant questions" remain about Kojo's actions and the integrity of his business and financial dealings related to the oil-for-food program.

    UN AND COTECNA

    -- UN violated bidding rules by failing to demand Cotecna submit a financial statement.

    -- UN failed to take into account the Swiss criminal investigation against Cotecna CEO Robert Massey.

    SENIOR UN OFFICIALS

    -- Annan's former chief of staff Iqbal Riza acted "imprudently" by ordering the destruction of three years of documents on April 22, 2004, one day after the UN Security Council authorized the independent oil-for-food inquiry.

    -- The head of the UN's internal watchdog, Dileep Nair, misused oil-for-food money to hire a man whose work was not directly related to the program. Enditem