| On UNOPS
Corruption Exposed by Inner City Press
Vanshelboim Case Transferred in SDNY
By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Video UN GATE, Oct 5 –
In the United Nations under
Antonio Guterres, there is
nothing but failure and
excuses and fundraising on
crises like Gaza, Ukraine,
Syria, Burma, Haiti and
Cameroon. In the UNGA
week just past, he had Inner
City Press blocked
at the 47th Street gate on
September 25 despite an invite
to an event on International
Law - then belatedly denied
Inner City Press access
application, without
explanation. On October 2
Inner City Press exclusively
reported the unsealing on the
indictment against the UN's
Vitaly Vanshelboim, here and
now full indictment on Patreon
here. Inner City
Press witnessed signing
in the SDNY Magistrates
Court. Video stand-up here
Inner City
Press witnessed on October 2 but
was confirmed in the public
docket on October 5: Judge
Margaret M. Garnett was recused,
because she participated in the
investigation of / case against
Vanshelboim or was in the US
Attorney's Office at the time.
Now the case is with SDNY Judge
Jeannette A. Vargas. Watch this
site.
The case is USA
v. Vanshelboim, 1:25-cr-14
(Unassigned) Judge Garnett was
deemed recused.... As to the UN we
again look at and ask about
Guterres' omission of his
links to UN briber CEFC China
Energy, leading to him banning
the Press (and Melissa Fleming
continuing the ban, not even answering
a law firm's pro bono letter),
on April 17, 2022 we published
on other officials - including
long time UNOPS operative
Vitaly Vanshelboim (whom Inner
City Press covered in
connection with UNOPS gag
orders before being banned
from UN by corrupt Guterres.)
We noted
that Vanshelboim's skeeze in
the S3i scam of UNOPS's Grete
Faremo. Now on October 3,
2026, after Inner City Press'
exclusive report on the
unsealed indictment, this: On 17 June 2026,
UNAT issued Judgment
2026-UNAT-1650 and referred
for accountability and
possible liability other
persons involved in approving
the UNOPS S3i investments.
Even the partial dissent
expressly agreed with that
referral. Three days later,
UNOPS Executive Director Jorge
Moreira da Silva told the
Executive Board that the
matter had been referred to
the Secretary-General to
independently investigate and
enforce accountability against
other senior individuals,
including the former Executive
Director and EAC+ members. So the
question for Guterres is now
straightforward: What
action has the
Secretary-General taken on the
UNAT referral? Has an
independent investigation been
initiated, does it include
former Executive Director
Grete Faremo and the relevant
EAC+ members, and will
Guterres ensure this is
resolved before he leaves
office on 31 December 2026
rather than leaving it to his
successor? UNOPS Current and
former personnel is formally
raising this with the
Secretary-General, PGA
Khalilur Rahman and the
UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive
Board. The UN's own
Tribunal has raised the
accountability question. UNOPS
has pointed to the
Secretary-General. Now
Guterres needs to answer what
happens next. While
others then noted for example
that a long time member of the
UN Correspondents Association
Gloria Starr Kins played a
role in hooking up the fraud,
they don't mention UNCA and
their role in banning the
Press. On December 13, 2024,
UNCA will put access to
Guterres up for sale again at
Cipriani: no questions have
been answered. Now this: Spanish
judges say Vanshelboim will be
extradited on three of the six
charges against him there:
soliciting and receiving
bribes as a member of an
organization that receives
federal funds, wire fraud
through honest services, and
money laundering. But --
Vanshelboim’s lawyers have
three days to appeal the
extradition ruling. Early on October
22, this from UNOPS staff to
Inner City Press: This decision
marks a turning point in one
of the most controversial
corruption scandals within the
U.N. system. Once in U.S.
custody, Vanshelboim could
choose to cooperate with
federal prosecutors to
mitigate his sentence — a
common practice in U.S.
criminal proceedings. Such
cooperation would likely lead
to new revelations about his
network of associates,
potentially implicating
figures such as Abdoul Dieng
and other UNOPS insiders who
benefited from or helped
conceal the illicit operations
during the S3i era. The
court approved the extradition
for only some of the five
counts in the U.S. indictment,
rejecting the remaining
charges. [Echoes of SBF's
extradiction and the dropping
of the campaign contribution
charges] The extradition
could open the floodgates of
accountability within UNOPS,
where internal oversight has
long been criticized as weak
or compromised. As the case
proceeds in the United States,
several current and former
UNOPS officials may now find
themselves under growing
scrutiny — and potentially
facing justice. First
among them - Guterres himself.
Perhaps
that explains: From
Guterres? Silence, no answers
to Press - which has asked him
and Stephane Dujarric and
Melissa Fleming every day for
the past month -
censorship and corruption. A
fish rots from the head. Yes it goes: On
June 17 the UN's scam
"justice" system - which bans
the Press from covering it -
let Vanshelboim largely off
the hook: 176. Mr.
Vanshelboim’s appeal is
granted in part, and Judgment
No. UNDT/2024/072 is hereby
modified. It is ordered
that: 1. The
determination of the financial
loss of USD 58.8 million is
modified; the amount of
financial loss is determined
to be USD 52,674,222; 2. The
finding that Mr. Vanshelboim
was solely accountable for the
financial loss is reversed and
replaced with a finding that
he bears substantive
responsibility; 3. The
decision to withhold Mr.
Vanshelboim’s pension is
maintained; and 4. The
case is referred to the
Secretary-General for possible
action to enforce
accountability under Article
9(5) of the Statute." Guterres and
accountability? That's an oxymoron We'll
have more on this.
***
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222 NY NY 10013 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis. Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com |
Investigative reporting from the inner city to Wall Street to the United Nations This is the blogspot version InnerCityPress.com
