UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan fired staff member Joseph Stephanides for wrongdoing in the oil-for-food scandal, a UN spokesman said today – the first dismissal stemming from alleged corruption in the multibillion-dollar programme.

KOFI ANNAN yesterday suspended the head of the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq and a senior official who dealt with contracts following an independent investigation that accused them of misconduct.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has suspended the head of the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq and a senior official who dealt with contracts following an independent investigation that accused them of misconduct.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has ordered disciplinary action against the head of the UN oil-for-food program in Iraq, who was sharply criticised in an investigation that accused him of a “grave conflict of interest” and “undermining the integrity” of the UN.