Kojo Annan
Kojo Annan (?1973 - ) is the son of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his wife Nanne Annan, a Swedish attorney. His connection with the U.N. Oil for Food program scandal combined with the status of his father have catapulted Kojo into news headlines.
From 1995 to 1997, Kojo worked in West Africa for the Swiss-based Cotecna, then as a marketing consultant for the company. A July 1998 billing memo for Cotecna stated that Kojo wrote that he should be reinbursed for a eight days that included six days "during my father's visit to Nigeria". A fax dated August 28, 1998, included the statement, "Your work and the contacts established at this meeting should ideally be followed up at the September 1998 UN General Assembly in New York." A September 1998 hotel bill for the Holiday Inn Garden Court in Durban was paid for by Cotecna, while he was registered as being there for the United Nations. He used a calling card paid for by Cotecna to call from a phone that begins 212-963-XXXX, the same beginning number for most phones in the United Nations in New York City.[1] In September 1998, Kojo met with several heads of state and government ministers during the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly. In December, Cotecna won a $4.8 million Oil for Food contract. [2] Kojo Annan, Kofi Annan and Cotecna deny that Kojo was involved in the Oil for Food contract. Annan also claimed that connections with Cotecna severed after 1998, however Kojo continued to be paid by the company until February 2004.
On December 13, 2004, Kojo claimed that the probe into the Oil for Food program by U.S. congressional committees was "a witchhunt from day one as part of a broader Republican political agenda."[3]
In late January 2005, Kojo Annan admitted that he negotiated the sale of Iraqi oil. [4]