Head of UN agency resigns after questions arise about loans

The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, asked a top official at a UN agency to resign on Saturday, shortly after an article was published describing how the agency had given out $61 million in loans and grant money to a single British family, according to a senior UN official.

The United Nations Office for Project Services, a little-known agency for operational projects, ventured into territory no other UN agency had entered: teaming up with the private sector for profit in 2015 by operating like an investment bank, reports the New York Times. 

Now it may lose as much as $22 million in bad debt, according to UN auditors.

The scandal has shaken and embarrassed the UN, according to several diplomats and staff members, at a time when it is appealing for millions of dollars in aid from donor countries for the war in Ukraine and other crises.

An internal investigation into the transactions was completed on Thursday, but its findings have not been released publicly.

The United States, which sits on the executive board of the UN agency, said its leadership needed to address the allegations and be held accountable.