An independent inquiry into corruption in the now-defunct U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq is under way but has not reached conclusions yet on any wrongdoing, U.N. and inquiry officials said on Friday. Paul Volcker, the former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman who heads the three-man investigative panel, presented his first report on its activities to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and plans to discuss it at a news conference on Monday, spokeswoman Anna Di Lellio said. "Mr. Volcker will describe the initiation of the investigation at Monday's news conference. But no investigative findings will be announced," Di Lellio said. Volcker, accompanied by the two other members of his panel, told reporters after meeting with Annan only that "we have delivered a status report, and I suspect the secretary-general will want to release that before long." The other panel members are Judge Richard Goldstone, who served as the first prosecutor on the U.N. Balkan war crimes tribunal and Swiss lawyer Mark Pieth, an expert on international bribery and money laundering. --more 2357 Local Time 2057 GMT
