Our team at Bank.org is leveraging international graduate research
   profiling Elon Musk's Twitter LBO ... A good case study for the failing
   United Nations.
   “If you look at U.N. innovation, you don’t find many people who have
   actually innovated, or even started a company. It’s mostly run by U.N.
   bureaucrats,” he said. “However, a bigger surprise is that the U.N.
   work culture is fear based, which pushes the U.N. away from solving
   problems.”

                     NOV. 25, 2022 BY [1]WILLIAM WORLEY

   The saga of little-known but highly controversial United Nations agency
   UNOPS has a new chapter. We have the latest on all the juicy details —
   including allegations of fraud, abuse of power, and a “culture of
   fear.”
   Also in today’s edition: Afghanistan’s development outlook, and a deal
   on Zambia’s debt relief wavers.
   [pattern-dotted-default.png]
   Damning portrait
   You may recall Devex [2]broke the story in April about irregularities
   in a multimillion-dollar investment initiative spearheaded by the
   United Nations Office for Project Services, or UNOPS. Well, an
   independent probe by auditing giant KPMG has now found “indications of
   fraud” and a massive breakdown of financial oversight, my colleagues
   Colum Lynch and Shabtai Gold [3]reveal.
   KPMG’s Finland office paints a “damning portrait of managerial
   dysfunction by top managers” at UNOPS as it expanded its role into the
   “high-stakes, and lucrative, world of impact investing,” writes Colum,
   after he and Shabtai waded through multiple draft reports. “A culture
   of fear created an environment that allowed for management override of
   controls,” according to one of the two KPMG reports. “The way of
   working by top management further indicates an abuse of power.”
   [4][UNOPS-review.png]
   As part of its shift toward impact investing, UNOPS created an
   initiative called Sustainable Investments in Infrastructure and
   Innovation initiative, known as S3i. It was run by Vitaly Vanshelboim —
   who was placed on administrative leave during a U.N. oversight
   investigation into “possible misconduct” — and aimed to secure private
   financing to build 1.3 million affordable homes over the next decade in
   Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and across the Caribbean.
   The reports allege that UNOPS officials ignored numerous “red
   flags” that trouble was brewing, including from a whistleblower who
   claimed contracts were overwhelmingly going to a single partner without
   competitive bidding or a proper vetting system.
   In response to the reports, UNOPS issued a statement saying it “takes
   all findings extremely seriously and is committed to address all
   recommendations under the direction of the Executive Board.”
   Scoop: [5]Review slams 'culture of fear' and other failings at UNOPS
   Recap: [6]What went wrong with UNOPS’ ambitious impact-investing
   initiative?
   And: A Devex explainer giving you [7]an inside look at the UNOPS
   scandal.

References

   1. https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGITaRYKWy_OJZsmONZR-C-Pb-dTc9P-t6ThJfBPSVFoyTuQluIUF8PWIpTYbIwBQLFP3eFevs=
   2. https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkrZ218GcgnHX2hd2Dfy8uBkRHv7KwcshCkH29Zbop0f6qKwcUruwunhZ3yjQ0ruEJg4JBtPNQZtwme3FFjYFWGYRCYXAqiPMq5br4Ff9j0GfEw8Wd7KPzLv_rsoBGXeVYXbe7MI8x2fRIRCQvStpMYcweLUMgIf8twLJo4lhdawK1DmeQtJ0GWbwrTviC9tTjEu5yTaYyoAMS-DaYsMHdi-CdWk6c41ZXoFxOxEqEStqC93IqFUrF4U_HSoWHh35w==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGITaRYKSj0B_83GUrq2jXuTB6uzwwyqBZzcuPPdCYSf-92B1I4pt3c9UtIDWpaqTkJw57rnKQ=
   3. https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POnwnnKj46o8s7W33hgH10jHonFmy6-2j86xo51Oyvh7WXzQpny2lWZUkGX1NwmmbQWQjF7B-cOWkCquAp-aXasPvKNzoWqOFNwDHIKC71gUsoOuUj8btUIQwbhbiw0RzmoZMCrOYWyfXx8-Q7b1BU3DYeQOC8YIuUBQF9FMA6CK0EUFoetCBRLvmpL4Or5TR_8mQvNWpFxir5s3wCJ5jD8OmXznqooYU_C7_emM_g9yyrjgkTQuiBfFozk4RIPBy6w==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGITaRYKSj0B_83GUrq2jXuTB6uzwwyqBZzcuPPdCYSf-92B1I4pt3c9UtIDWpaqTkJw57rnKQ=
   4. https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POnwnnKj46o8s7W33hgH10jHonFmy6-2j86xo51Oyvh7WXzQpny2lWZUkGX1NwmmbQWQjF7B-cOWkCquAp-aXasPvKNzoWqOFNwDHIKC71gUsoOuUj8btUIQwbhbiw0RzmoZMCrOYWyfXx8-Q7b1BU3DYeQOC8YIuUBQF9FMA6CK0EUFoetCBRLvmpL4Or5TR_8mQvNWpFxir5s3wCJ5jD8OmXznqooYU_C7_emM_g9yydJGcRgPFskcGi45m2dqRrQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGITaRYKSj0B_83GUrq2jXuTB6uzwwyqBZzcuPPdCYSf-92B1I4pt3c9UtIDWpaqTkJw57rnKQ=
   5. https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POnwnnKj46o8s7W33hgH10jHonFmy6-2j86xo51Oyvh7WXzQpny2lWZUkGX1NwmmbQWQjF7B-cOWkCquAp-aXasPvKNzoWqOFNwDHIKC71gUsoOuUj8btUIQwbhbiw0RzmoZMCrOYWyfXx8-Q7b1BU3DYeQOC8YIuUBQF9FMA6CK0EUFoetCBRLvmpL4Or5TR_8mQvNWpFxir5s3wCJ5jD8OmXznqooYU_C7_emM_g9yyygBuU9Y3AyjrUT2C8iAMJQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGITaRYKSj0B_83GUrq2jXuTB6uzwwyqBZzcuPPdCYSf-92B1I4pt3c9UtIDWpaqTkJw57rnKQ=
   6. https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkrZ218GcgnHX2hd2Dfy8uBkRHv7KwcshCkH29Zbop0f6qKwcUruwunhZ3yjQ0ruEJg4JBtPNQZtwme3FFjYFWGYRCYXAqiPMq5br4Ff9j0GfEw8Wd7KPzLv_rsoBGXeVYXbe7MI8x2fRIRCQvStpMYcweLUMgIf8twLJo4lhdawK1DmeQtJ0GWbwrTviC9tTjEu5yTaYyoAMS-DaYsMHdi-CdWk6c41ZXoFxOxEqEStKL-8yoepTDvQeKubyH6_2g==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGITaRYKSj0B_83GUrq2jXuTB6uzwwyqBZzcuPPdCYSf-92B1I4pt3c9UtIDWpaqTkJw57rnKQ=
   7. https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlJNH-zgYN4uLQ2vyaWxF-yHimX8n4NXRSsyVOpX5D7Lmsr3_eb-PUrlqQ6_-TWJao4pIrklAERQpZ_WHNcPNTTcm4CMZZcm13r2-DojQKWP21-KLBrJJP7AzewrI-3KoRZrwUrTn2qT6XuLrz89XMIuv2wUX3E9J5XaXz6UoMkCjfQHIrIo4-nDa3F29DyckB3Z1oXsPCuDiCK0b4xFWXjyOm3jU762Vm2n89_H0pQR/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGITaRYKSj0B_83GUrq2jXuTB6uzwwyqBZzcuPPdCYSf-92B1I4pt3c9UtIDWpaqTkJw57rnKQ=