![Former French UN ambassador admits taking oil-for-food bribes](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] Former French UN ambassador Jean-Bernard Merimee has admitted to a French judge that he accepted $156,000 [JURIST report] in connection with the now-defunct UN Oil-for-Food program [official website; JURIST news archive]. Merimee received the money by way of oil allocations from Saddam Hussein's government that could be sold for profit; he is thought to be the first high-level official to admit wrongdoing in the scandal. No decisions have yet been announced on criminal charges. Le Figaro has local coverage (in French); the Sydney Morning Herald has more.