UN Oil-for-Food Scandal
A U.S. investigation into the UN Oil-for-Food scandal determined that Power Corporation had extensive connections to French bank BNP Paribas, which was selected in 1996 to broker the Oil-for-Food program. Power owned a stake in Paribas through its subsidiary Pargesa Holding SA. Pargesa Holding SA’s investment portfolio also includes Imerys, a mining entity majority owned by the Desmarais family and Belgian tycoon Albert Frère.
The Desmarais family and Frère are also the largest shareholders in oil company Total SA, France’s largest oil company. Total was the subject of a formal investigation by the United Nations in February 2010 for bribery charges concerning oil deliveries from Iraq during the rule of dictator Saddam Hussein.
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