A U.N. anti-corruption unit that uncovered bribery and bid-rigging has resulted in what U.S. authorities are calling their biggest foreign bribery sting to date. The January sting netted 16 indictments and 22 arrests of small arms and military equipment makers. However, the U.N. task force that led U.S. authorities to their case was disbanded in 2008.

At the center of the U.S. case is Richard Bistrong, a former Florida executive who surfaced in a series of cases of bribes and bid-rigging for multimillion-dollar U.N. peacekeeping contracts, according to U.N. documents, task force reports, e-mails and legal filings reviewed by The Associated Press.

U.N spokesman Martin Nesirky, said the U.N. tightened its contracting and spending processes, but the procurement division was reviewing the Bistrong case “to identify what actions are warranted.”

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gFnM7D6JvcOpN_Kkz1sXd9u7oq7wD9EH536O1