Facing Corruption Scandals, Communist Ex-UN Boss Gets Immunity

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Another major scandal is brewing at the disgraced UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. With former UNESCO boss and longtime Communist Party bigwig Irina Bokova and her communist husband both accused of widespread corruption, the controversial new head of the UN “education” agency — herself a Socialist Party member — gave them both diplomatic immunity. The scheme, which appears designed to protect the communist duo from corruption allegations across multiple jurisdictions, includes a bizarre contract paying Bokova $1 that has drawn intense criticism and caused even more suspicion. But for now, archaic UN “diplomatic immunity” protections are likely to hamper any law-enforcement investigations or potential prosecutions.

The New American first became interested in Bokova amid investigations into UNESCO schemes to hijack and weaponize education worldwide. It very quickly became apparent that the longtime member of the Bulgarian Communist Party, which slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent people, was hoping to indoctrinate children into the UN-backed ideologies of globalism, humanism, and socialism. “We have the collective duty to empower every child and youth with the right foundations — knowledge, values and skills — to shape the future as responsible global citizens, [emphasis added]” she declared at a UN summit on education in South Korea, one of many public statements vowing to transform the attitudes and values of children worldwide.

It also very quickly became apparent that the frequent accusations of corruption and malfeasance being made by watchdogs and analysts deserved to be seriously examined. First, Bokova was caught lying on her CV. Then, her ownership of luxurious properties around the world — New York City, London, Paris — properties that investigators said her income could not account for — was exposed by the watchdog group Bivol. After that, scandals involving cronyism in her appointments of unqualified candidates to senior UN posts emerged. She was also widely accused of using public money to campaign for the UN secretary-general job while offering “awards” to potential supporters of her bid including Obama, Communist Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s wife, and other key players.

That pattern of alleged corruption appears to have continued — and the benefits are still accruing. While Bokova was running UNESCO, a post she held until recently, the Rothschild-backed communist did more than a few major favors for Russian chemical giant PhosAgro, including forming a “partnership” between the UN agency she ran and the controversial company in 2011. On June 2, 2017, the Moscow-trained Bulgarian communist even gave a speech at the Kremlin-backed St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in which she showered praise on the conglomerate and its leadership.

“We need chemistry to move forward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” said Bokova, a reference to the totalitarian UN plan for humanity sometimes referred to as Agenda 2030 or the “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) which the Communist Chinese regime played a “crucial role” developing. “This is why our partnership with PhosAgro … is so important, to support the creativity and innovation of young scientists, guided by the Principles of Green Chemistry.” She also expressed “special gratitude” to PhosAgro boss and controversial Russian billionaire Andrey Guryev for the “leadership he brings to strengthening cooperation between PhosAgro and UNESCO.” And finally, she expressed confidence that the cooperation between the two “will continue to go from strength to strength.”

Unsurprisingly to those monitoring Bokova, she joined the board of directors for PhosAgro almost immediately after leaving UNESCO. While details of her compensation package are not public, sources within UNESCO said the numbers were believed to be extraordinary. The New American magazine reached out to Bokova in March with a request for details about the relationship with PhosAgro, including financial arrangements. She did not respond. This magazine has offered her multiple opportunities to comment or respond to previous articles, but in each case, she has declined. In at least two cases while she was still running UNESCO, though, her deputies sent letters that they declined to post publicly in the comment section.

Bokova’s husband, Kalin Mitrev, is also a longtime communist operative with deep ties to international communism and the former Bulgarian regime’s mass-murdering “security” services. And Mitrev, who also joined the ranks of international bureaucracy by working at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has been credibly accused of corruption, too. According to multiple news reports last September, Bulgarian authorities launched an investigation into Mitrev. Among other major concerns, Mitrev received about half a million U.S. dollars, part of it via Swiss bank accounts, as part of an alleged money-laundering and influence-buying scheme known as “Azerbaijani laundromat” tied to the brutal dictatorship ruling Azerbaijan. The prosecutor’s office has not provided any recent updates on the status of the investigation.

The case was opened after the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and other media exposed the allegedly shady dealings in major newspapers across Europe. Despite her well-known close ties to the brutal regime in Azerbaijan, Bokova denied knowledge of her husband’s schemes. “I am not privy to the details of my husband’s consulting business and equally, your questions about my opinion on Azerbaijan and its leadership are wholly misplaced,” she was quoted as saying in media reports surrounding the investigation into her husband. “I most vehemently deny any wrongdoing and will consider defamatory any publication of these totally unfounded conjectures on your part.”

It was not clear how extensive Bokova’s attempts at legal action against journalists have been, although at least one prominent reporter who reached out to The New American said that Bokova had targeted him. Several other embattled UN agency chiefs, including the chief of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), who is connected to a Latin American communist network, as well as the head of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), have been abusing European legal systems to silence and punish journalists for exposing corruption and crimes at their UN agencies. U.S. lawmakers have also expressed concerns over Bokova’s ties to the regime in Azerbaijan.

As The New American reported in October of last year, Bokova and her allies were desperately seeking a successor at UNESCO who would keep the lid on all of the mushrooming scandals that were coming out in the press. And with her protection from prosecution by the diplomatic immunity conferred on employees of international organizations expiring at the end of her term in November 2017, insiders at the UN agency told this magazine that the scramble was on to find somebody who would remain silent — if not cooperate in the shady business. It seems Bokova and friends may have found the ally they needed.

As of January 2018, in what has been widely described as another corrupt scheme, Bokova secured immunity for herself and her husband by signing a deal with UNESCO’s new chief, French Socialist Party bigwig Audray Azoulay. Under the agreement, a copy of which was obtained by The New American, Bokova is paid a mere $1 per year. In exchange, the infamous “red diaper baby” from Bulgaria supposedly “advises senior management on various aspects of UNESCO programs” and “conducts missions to organize meetings, conferences and consultations.” UNESCO member states were not consulted on the arrangement, according to multiple sources.

More than a few critics have lambasted the agreement as a transparent scheme to protect Bokova and her husband from the law. As an additional side benefit, under the terms of treaties and the French legal system, the contract exempts Bokova from taxes and even from filing tax declarations that might reveal how much money she is bringing in from PhosAgro and other sources. The deal with PhosAgro was announced just days after the signing of the secretive contract with UNESCO’s Azoulay, who was at the secretive annual Bilderberg meetings in Turin last week with globalist power brokers and their useful idiots from around the world.

Critics of the shady UNESCO dealing expressed outrage, and multiple watchdogs such as Bulgarian non-profit Bivol highlighted the obvious implications. Journalist Matthew Lee with Inner City Press, which itself has faced retaliation from the UN over its hard-hitting reporting, also expressed alarm. “UNESCO is badly tarnished by this decision which torpedoed the legitimate hope that the French Director General will put an end to the existing corrupted practices,” explained Lee in one of his articles about the corruption. “This ultimately shows the hidden and obscure side of the United Nations that ICP and others are disclosing to the public relentlessly.”

Sources inside UNESCO also spoke out. “It is extremely regrettable and we note it with great concern that the corruption schemes established at UNESCO by the former ‘Dictator’ General, the communist party member, Bokova are now being perpetuated by the administration of the socialist party designated DG of UNESCO Azoulay,” a concerned UNESCO official told The New American on condition of anonymity. “Their obvious complicity is sealed by this one dollar contract generously signed by Azoulay and Bokova.” The source said it was “unfortunate” the new Socialist chief of UNESCO does not respect the rules, facilitates corruption, and more.

Aside from the corruption scandals, the sex-abuse scandals that have plagued the entire UN system — including an estimated 60,000 rapes of women and children with impunity by UN officials in the last decade — has also reached into the highest echelons of UNESCO. Earlier this year, UNESCO Assistant Director General Frank La Rue of Guatemala was suspended from his post due to allegations that he sexually harassed a woman — but only after it became a public scandal. Unsurprisingly, La Rue was appointed by the scandal-plagued Bokova. And it may just be the tip of the iceberg, according to the UNESCO official who requested anonymity to discuss the matter.

“By firing the Guatemala national appointed by Bokova in the very high position of assistant director general for communication, Azoulay reacted to the pressure by Member States to clean the reputation of UNESCO after the huge sex scandal,” the insider at the agency said. “Since then however, all other similar cases are not investigated and the victims live under pressure and constant threats to be unlawfully dismissed in retaliation for their complaints.” Indeed, this magazine has highlighted numerous cases from across the UN system where whistleblowers face extreme retaliation for reporting everything from corruption and sanctions violations by UN agencies to the mass rape of children by heavily armed UN officials. Even journalists are now facing legal action from the UN.

Unfortunately, the communism, corruption, and crime plaguing UNESCO are merely a symptom of a horrifying disease. But the scandal does help make a few points clear. For one, it is now indisputable that communists, who were never punished for their crimes after the alleged “collapse” of communism, retain massive levels of influence in Bulgaria, at the UN, and beyond. It is also clear that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, yet another Socialist — he actually ran the global socialism-promoting Socialist International for years — is not truly interested in cleaning out corruption or sex abuse that permeated the so-called dictators club. UNESCO member states are also implicated for tolerating the horror show.

For Americans, there is good news, though. The Trump administration announced last October that the Unites States would be officially withdrawing from UNESCO at the end of 2018. Citing totalitarian control of the organization, President Ronald Reagan withdrew, too — only to have a future administration re-join. But for the rest of the world and potentially even for Americans under a new government, UNESCO remains a major threat. Ending the corrupt system of impunity, investigating all crimes, and draining the international swamp would be an excellent follow-up to the U.S. withdrawal. And finally, passing the American Sovereignty Restoration Act (H.R. 193) to get the U.S. government out of the full UN would protect American money and liberty from the globalist cartel running the international swamp. It is past time to Get U.S. Out of the UN.

Photo of Irina Bokova: United Nations

Alex Newman, a foreign correspondent for The New American, is normally based in Europe but has lived all over the world. Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU or on Facebook. He can be reached at [email protected].