Former UN official awaits extradition to US on bribery charge

The fate of Vitaly Vanshelboim, a former senior United Nations official accused of accepting about $3 million in improper gifts for himself and family members, is coming to a head in a Madrid courtroom, where Spanish prosecutors are seeking his extradition to the United States to stand trial on bribery charges. In a bid to prevent his transfer to the U.S., Vanshelboim and his attorney marshaled a litany of claims, including: he fears for his life; he is a victim of political persecution; and he would be denied an opportunity to publish a book he began writing in 2023 about American misdeeds in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, or to potentially “bring it to Netflix” for consideration, according to an account of the court hearing by the Spanish new agency, EFE. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Spain’s national court ordered Vanshelboim to be extradited to the U.S., after a three-judge panel concluded there was enough evidence that he engaged in bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering. The court’s ruling is subject to appeal and final approval by the Spanish government, according to Reuters, which cited a court document. The case against Vanshelboim, a Ukrainian national who has served in the U.N.’s senior ranks for decades, has its roots in a scandal in an obscure housing and renewable energy program run by the U.N. Office for Project Services, or UNOPS. It was first exposed back in 2022 by Devex, a U.N. blogger named Mukesh Kapila, and later by The New York Times. In April 2022, Devex reported that the U.N. was investigating the loss of tens of millions of dollars in a UNOPS project aimed at building more than 1 million affordable homes and wind farms in six countries. The New York Times followed up with its own investigation, which provided a backdrop for the resignation of Grete Faremo, a former Norwegian politician and a top official at UNOPS at the time. Faremo — who signed off on the housing and wind farm contracts — has not been charged with wrongdoing. Still, the scandal, she conceded at the time, “occurred on my watch and I acknowledge my responsibility and have decided to step down.” The housing project — known as the Sustainable Investments in Infrastructure Innovation, or S31, a subsidiary of UNOPS — was run by Vanshelboim. In the end, the U.N. claimed a loss of about $63 million, the majority to a Singapore-based contracting firm run by a British businessman. Only just over $6 million was recovered. “Not even a single house was built,” a chief financial officer from UNOPS told a U.N. tribunal. The tribunal only singled out Vanshelboim for fraud, but it said Faremo’s “extraordinary deferral” to Vanshelboim on financial, strategic, and reputational matters “may expose [her] to liability for the losses UNOPS sustained from approving the … deals on her watch.” It also cited “evidence that some other members” of a UNOPS review board — known as EAC+ and that monitored the S31 contracts — “were less than diligent in reviewing the proposals.” “It’s baffling how fraud of this scale could have occurred without broader knowledge or involvement,” said Chris Lu, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. for management and reform, who was heavily involved in the UNOPS case. “At a minimum, there was gross negligence at the highest levels of UNOPS.” “The fact that this process has dragged on for years, despite abundant evidence, is unacceptable and undermines confidence in the system,” Lu told Devex by email. “Extradition would be a crucial test of accountability.” “This scandal exposed deficiencies in oversight, audit, and governance mechanisms across the UN,” he added. “Three years later, it’s concerning that comprehensive corrective measures still haven’t been put in place.” UNOPS was established in 1973 as a branch of the U.N. Development Programme and is dedicated to carrying out infrastructure and procurement programs for the U.N., as well as international financial institutions and governments. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, it became an independent self-financing agency in 1995, but it struggled to carve out a high profile. Under Faremo and Vanshelboim’s leadership, UNOPS sought to reposition itself in a more prominent role as a catalyst for investments in development. Their impact investment strategy resulted in a large increase in reserves, from $159 million in 2017 to $360 million in 2021, a 126% increase in just four years. In January 2021, UNOPS established a Helsinki office to oversee its new S3i initiative. But the initiative largely short-circuited UNOPS due process procedures and began investing tens of millions of dollars into a series of companies controlled by a single family, according to an independent audit conducted by KPMG’s Finland office. Vanshelboim had gained a reputation as an astute financial manager, having been credited by colleagues with saving UNOPS from bankruptcy in 2007, earning the moniker “Mr. UNOPS.” He would later play a central role in transforming into an impact investor. But Vanshelbom’s career collapsed following an international investigation into the S3i by the U.N.’s internal oversight office. Vanshelboim was fired in January 2023 and ordered to pay up for the losses. In October 2024, a U.N. tribunal concluded Vanshelboim engaged in “gross misconduct” and “fraud” that resulted in UNOPS entering multiple multimillion-dollar business partnerships with a British businessman, David Kendrick, who allegedly provided more than $3 million in “direct financial and material benefits,” including a luxury Mercedes Benz, a $1.2 million tennis sponsorship for his son, and annual $500,000 interest-free loans to Vanshalboim and his family. Kendrick could not be reached for comment. “When told what Kendrick had promised to pay him, the son wrote ‘this is insane, how is it possible. I am not even a good tennis player yet.’ In reply, the Applicant [Vanshelboim] wrote ‘p]art of my job is to make insane things happen,’” according to the tribunal. “It seems the Applicant seeks ‘to make insane things happen’ in this litigation by arguing no conflict of interest when the evidence of such a conflict is overwhelming,” the tribunal added. In the end, the tribunal upheld a U.N. decision to hold Vanshelboim personally accountable for $58 million in losses, dock him a year’s net pay, and block payouts on his pension until he repaid the financial losses. “The misconduct was unprecedented, causing enormous financial loss to UNOPS and tremendous damage to the reputation of UNOPS and the United Nations,” the tribunal found. Vanshelboim's attorney in the U.N. tribunal case, George Irving, said the case has been appealed before an appeals tribunal. Irving told Devex in a phone interview that he no longer represents Vanshelboim and hasn’t spoken to him for some time. Asked whether he believed his former client was guilty of the claims against him, answered: “That’s a difficult question to answer because it’s a complicated case.” Vanshelboim, he noted, contends that “it was a corporate decision, not a personal decision,” to enter into tens of millions of dollars in contracts with the British businessman. He also “maintains the losses were a result of decisions [by the United Nations] to withdraw from these projects.” A spokesperson for the U.N. declined to say explicitly whether the U.N. secretary-general has lifted Vanshelboim’s diplomatic immunity, or intends to if he is extradited to the U.S. “The United Nations is aware of media reports concerning an extradition process in Spain involving Mr. Vitaly Vanshelboim, a former staff member of the United Nations Office for Project Services who was dismissed for misconduct,” Farhan Haq, a spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, told Devex by email. “The United Nations remains ready to cooperate with national authorities in respect of investigations involving Mr. Vanshelboim’s conduct,” he added. “With a view to not prejudicing any action being taken or contemplated by such authorities, we are not in a position to provide any further information.” A spokesperson for UNOPS said it is aware of media reports about Vanshelboim’s possible extradition, and that the agency “remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting all steps towards accountability in this matter. In respect of any proceedings conducted by national authorities, the UN’s long-established policy is to cooperate with such authorities with respect to their actions, to facilitate the proper administration of justice.”