It is likely to become the largest bribery and embezzlement scandal in world history.

But judging from the coverage given to it in the mainstream media and the insistence by Paul Martin's Liberals that the investigation should not resonate, chances are you are in the dark as to what this multi-billion dollar fiasco is all about.

So far, says a U.S. Senate investigation--one of five under way across the globe--former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is alleged to have skimmed US$21.3 billion (C$27 billion) from a UN humanitarian-aid program--which allowed Iraq to sell oil while it was under sanctions between 1996 and 2003.

Connected to this massive corruption is Canadian serial entrepreneur Maurice Strong, our prime minister's key advisor since the 1960s.

Strong, who has stepped aside pending the investigations broke United Nations rules by putting his stepdaughter on his diplomatic payroll, the UN says. She has also quit.

In addition Strong was linked to a South Korean lobbyist who is suspected of bribing UN officials with Iraqi money.

That lobbyist is South Korean businessman Tongsun Park who invested money in Cordex Petroleum, a Calgary oil company that was run by Strong's son Frederick.

Cordex is partly owned by Paul Martin's family company, The Canada Steamship Lines Group Inc. (Montreal, Canada).

As the investigation grows, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, a huge Martin fan, is also trying hard to stop the fingers pointing directly at him.

His son Benon Sevan, was in charge of the UN Oil for Food program, the humanitarian effort at the scandal's center and there are allegations that he was on the take.

Canadians known for their international humanitarian efforts are strangely silent as this corruption scandal unfolds.

When questions were raised in Parliament about the Canadian role in the scandal, the Liberal government's response was that Strong has denied the allegations and that they should not resonate across this country.

"I can tell you that Mr. Strong has absolutely denied these allegations and this country should be very proud of the role Mr. Maurice strong has played over the years working systematically for making progress at the United Nations institutions."

So why do the Liberals, who are fighting tooth and nail to cling to power over the Adscam scandal, not want this UN corruption case to resonate across Canada

Maybe it is because the key actors in this movie are all buddies.

After Paul Martin graduated from the University of Toronto law school, it was Maurice Strong, who was then president of Power Corp. who hired him as a special assistant.

In 1969, Martin became a Power Corp. Vice President and five years later the Prime Minister was appointed chairman and CEO of Canada Steamship Lines (CSL), owned by Power Corp.

Power Corp. one of Canada's largest corporate giants controls the European-based BNP Paribas bank, which the U.N. chose to administer the food for oil program and which reportedly received nearly US$1 billion (C$1.2 billion) for its efforts.

Now it has become known that the man appointed to get to the bottom of this corruption is Paul Volcker, who was a one-time director of Power Corp. run by Paul Desmarais.

Paul Martin, as finance minister while this fiasco was taking place, worked under Jean Chretien whose daughter France is married to Desmarais' son, Andre Desmarais.

It is no wonder that Paul Martin's Liberals want to keep a lid on the U.N. scandal in Canada because there are strong ties that bind them to this unprecedented dishonesty.

h4. The Asian Pacific Post