The United Nations said Thursday that its information center in Tokyo violated accounting rules on payments of business fees to contractors but no one unlawfully pocketed the money.

"As far as we know, although advanced payment was made in contravention of financial rules, there was no improper use of the money for personal gain," said Kiyotaka Akasaka, the undersecretary general of the U.N. Department of Public Information.

Akasaka refuted allegations laid out in a letter by the Consumers Union of Japan, a nonprofit organization, that the U.N. Information Center in Tokyo had drawn up fake invoices and companies that had business contracts with it were unlawfully paid several million yen a few years ago.

   "Nobody pocketed the money," he said. "It was the practice of advanced payment for the services which were eventually rendered."

Akasaka admitted the invoices were "fictitious" but said they were used to make advanced payments in 2005 for services eventually rendered in 2006.

At issue are the advanced payments to three different companies totaling 3.1 million yen, or about $30,000.

Particularly problematic was a 2005 payment made to a company Akasaka said was called ACC, which later went bankrupt.

The services of the bankrupt company were eventually rendered in June 2006 after another company took over.

"This practice is not in conformity with financial regulations," said Akasaka, except where normal commercial practice or the interest of the  United  Nations  requires such a payment.

The undersecretary general said the overpayments were for regular expenses.

The payments were earmarked for services such as printing, maintaining websites and purchasing materials for exhibits at the center's gallery.

Akasaka said U.N. headquarters became aware of the practice in September 2006 and that "immediate corrective action" was taken to end it.

The U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services was contacted and conducted an internal audit containing recommendations.

The center's staffers who prepared, certified and approved the fictitious invoices for the advanced payment practice are awaiting disciplinary action.

"Action will be taken, but nothing has been taken yet," said Akasaka, adding the U.N. Department of Management was to determine the next course of action.

"I would like to make it clear that practice was stopped two years ago," he said, adding that the Japanese Foreign Ministry had been made aware of the situation.

The center is a unit of the U.N. Department of Public Information.

Source:Japan Economic Newswire