Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the United Nations to Wall Street to the Inner City

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 -- Irregularities at the $50 billion UN Joint Staff Pension Fund, which Inner City Press has previously exclusively covered, for example here, have grown worse, according to whistleblower communications received by Inner City Press from multiple sources, and published on March 29.

On April 13, after Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff scheduled a "Global Town Hall Meeting" to "provide reassurance concerning the health of the Fund itself... in response to recent attention surrounding the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund," Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman:

Inner City Press: This has to do with what you put out or what was put out from Under-Secretary-General [Yukio] Takasu about the pension fund.  Now I'm aware there's going to be some kind of town hall meeting about it. I guess I would just wait to see what happens at the town hall meeting, except that I notice that the statement had almost nothing do about the investment component, Ms. [Carol] Boykin and the representative of the Secretary-General on investments, and I wanted to ask, one, there's an OIOS [United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services] report about procurement of an IT contractor called [inaudible -- it's Murex] that remains outstanding.  There's the postponement of a D-2 position based on a finding of dispute tribunal.  So is this town hall meeting intended to address all of these issues?

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric:  I think the town hall meeting is intending to address the concerns that staff members either through staff representatives or individually have raised.  I think it's a very normal reaction to the concern. Whenever people talk about their pensions, I think people… it's their future.  And I think it's… it's only normal that the management, senior management of this Organization would address directly and all the questions.  There will be… there are no issues that are off-topic during the town hall meeting.  If people want to raise issues about investment issues, about staffing issues.

Inner City Press:  Will Ms. Boykin be there and be able to answer question?

Spokesman Dujarric:  I don't know personally.  I would assume… strongly assume and based on my assumptions that the leadership of the Pension Fund, whether it's on the investment side, the liability side, will obviously be there and be able to answer questions.  I think… again, it's best to address these things head on.

   If that's true, about addressing things head one, why did the UN resist confirming when Inner City Press three times asked if Investment Committee chair Ivan Pictet had resigned?

  Why did Ban's representative to the Pension Fund Carolyn Boykin never appear to answer questions as had been proffered?

  Now there's talk of a shift into hedge funds, and irregularities in contracting for IT services, from Murex (criticized by the UN's own Office of Internal Oversight Services) prospectively to Bloomberg without a full procurement process. The way to "provide clarity" is to answer or at least try to answer questions when they are asked. We'll have more on this.

 On April 8, after Inner City Press three times asked the UN spokespeople to simply confirm that Ivan Pictet resigned as chair of the Fund's Investment Committee, lead spokesman Stephane Dujarric belated acknowledged it. UN's transcript.

Inner City Press: This has to do with the Pension Fund, as I alluded to.  I asked Farhan, then I asked you, whether the head of the investment committee of this $50 billion fund has resigned.  And I wanted to ask now, that I've heard that a memo has gone to the Fifth Committee to that effect.

Spokesman:  Yes, it has… he did leave.  He did resign.  And if I'm not mistaken, he said that after, I think, almost 10 years of service, he felt it was time to move on.  We're obviously very grateful for the time and effort Mr. Pictet put into his role.

Inner City Press:  I've heard also that his letter of resignation actually makes some criticism.  Is that a full summary?

Spokesman: No, I would…  I would not agree with that assessment.

Inner City Press: What's the process for actually appointing a new Chairperson of this $50 billion fund?  What's the Secretary-General's role?

Spokesman: I will find out.

  Well, Inner City Press is multiply informed that RSG Carolyn Boykin has been proposing current IC member Linah Kelebogile Mohohlo, but that there are attendance issues.

  Other IC members with questions:  Simon Zheng of China, about Boykin's (lack of) knowledge of the RMB, and Achim Kassow of Germany. There are others, and we'll have more.

  On March 30, Inner City Press asked UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq:

Inner City Press..  about alleged irregularities in the Pension Fund and a desire by the current Chief of the Pension Fund to change the rules so there's less outside review. Is the Secretariat aware of these concerns and how does the Secretariat think they should be resolved, and how would staff in New York be represented as to this $53 billion fund?

Deputy Spokesman Haq:  As you know, the Secretariat in the form of the Secretary-General does not have control over the Pension Fund.  It's not something that I can comment on.  You'd have to take that up directly with the Pension Fund.

  It seemed a strange or telling answer, given that there is a Representative of the Secretary General to the pension fund, Caro Boykin, on whom Inner City Press has previously reported, here.

  More recently, as first reported here by Inner City Press, Boykin's management has been questioned by the UN Dispute Tribunal on March 30, 2015, here, in Singh vs UNSG (Ban Ki-moon):

"the Applicant’s request for management evaluation was deem
ed premature, and thus not receivable. However, the MEU made the following observations:

"Following communications with the UNJSPF, the MEU noted that the job opening for the Post was exceptionally approved by [OHRM] and later reviewed and approved by the Central Review Board. The MEU learned that the CFA exception was granted because the future incumbent will be in charge of managing all investments of the [IMD], which are valued at USD 53 billion."

  So after learning more about the growing scandal in the UN Pension Fund, including through a staff meeting on March 31 that was itself controversial, Inner City Press on April 1 asked Haq again.

 Haq now said he had spoken with Boykin who might -- might -- speak to the press. Inner City Press asked, yes or no, if Investment Committee chairman Ivan Pictet has quit.  Haq did not answer.

 There are $53 billion at stake here, and the Secretary General appoints the members of the Investment Committee. We'll have more on this.

 And on this, the allegations of (some) staff:

-Attempts by the fund CEO, Sergio Arvizú, to recruit a new CFO, subsequent  found to be unsuitable for the post.

- A consultancy services contract worth $520,000, divided into two, so as to avoid scrutiny by the Headquarters Committee on Contracts, a committee that only reviews procurement requests above $500,000.

- Attempts by the CEO to approve return air tickets from Mexico to New York for four individuals with no relationship, contractual or otherwise, to the fund.

- Irregular modification of a vacancy announcement in order to favor a particular candidate to the post of D-1 Chief of Legal Services.

- Attempts by the CEO to give a short-term contract to a 90 year-old referee on his CV -- this person was said, on March 31, to be closer to 100 years old.

  A failure to disclose a conflict of interest involving JP Morgan Chase was also alleged.

  The UN Pension Fund, which has resisted not only Press coverage but also accountability to its own pensioneers, is said to be poised to implement a major reduction in staff rights, according to a communication a whistleblower directed to Inner City Press on April 2, 2014 and which Inner City Press published on April 3, here.

   Inner City Press immediately began investigating the complaint, including a draft Secretary General's Bulletin said to be pushed by Pension Fund CEO Sergio Arvizu Trevino. From April 3 through the UN noon briefing on April 14, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokespeople three times for a response, including to staff unions' letters of protest.

  Finally on April 14 came this response from Ban's spokesman:

  This despite extensive protest from impacted staff, for example this received by Inner City Press:

 And so there will be more - watch this site. Tellingly, UN Management has engaged in what many view as censorship, click here for that.

   In the interim the old Staff Union has gotten involved, stating that it is "confident that the draft is real and is currently under consideration" --

  The whistleblower's summary points at CEO Sergio Arvizu Trevino and his deputy Paul Dooley. Back in July 2013 when the UN Pension Fund was poised to designate a new deputy director, sources told Inner City Press that first among the three finalists was an individual previously recommended for discipline by the Office of Internal Oversight Service, Paul Dooley.

   Inner City Press, contacted by whistleblowers inside the Pension Fund, previously dug into a lack of accountability there. It obtained and reported on OIOS' "Investigation of conflict of interest, favoritism and mismanagement at the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund" describing how through the Pension Fund's Paul Dooley, millions of dollars in contacts were given to a company called Sprig, Ltd, run by Gerald Bodell, who was previously Dooley's supervisor at Guardian Mortgage Corporation.

  Recommendations 1 and 2 of the OIOS investigative report directed that "appropriate action be taken” regarding Dooley as well as Dulcie Bull.

Previous chief Bernard G. Cocheme refused to implement the recommendation for discipline. Farhan Haq, then as now a UN spokesperson, confirmed to Inner City Press Cocheme's decision not to discipline: