UN's number two accused in Chinese scam to import Nigerian rosewood
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed faced accusations from an advocacy group on Thursday that she granted illegal permits to Chinese firms to import endangered Nigerian timber when she was Nigeria's environment minister.
Documents provided by Mohammed were used by Chinese importers to clear more than $300 million worth of rosewood logs held up by Chinese border authorities for months, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a Washington-based environmental campaigning organization.
The EIA said its investigation had found that Nigerian officials were paid over $1 million to help the importers release the rosewood, which was put on a list of endangered species last year by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
photo credit: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Develop