UN Deputy Chief Accused of Approving Illegal Wood Exports
- Amina Mohammed denies any wrongdoing, has Guterres’ support
- Environment NGO says Mohammed was Nigeria minister at time
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The United Nations’ second-highest ranking official, Amina Mohammed, has been accused by an advocacy group of allowing illegal exports of endangered timber from Nigeria to China when she was environment minister in the West African nation. She has denied any wrongdoing.
The Environmental Investigation Agency said that 1.4 million logs of Nigerian rosewood worth $300 million were confiscated for months by Chinese authorities upon arrival at ports, pending paperwork. They were released after Mohammed provided in January 2017 permits retroactively issued to clear their export from Nigeria. This was just weeks before she left her ministerial post to join the UN, the EIA said in a report released Thursday after a two-year investigation.