This is actually about cars and political . . . so, it's a "two-fer!"

The Kofi-Kojo Mercedes story tracks back to 1998, the second year of Kofi Annan's tenure as secretary-general. The saga of the Mercedes began with Kojo Annan's trip to a car show in Geneva, Switzerland, in early 1998, where "he saw a Mercedes Benz vehicle that he wished to buy for his personal use" and in order to get a U.N. discount — although he did not work for the U.N. — "he set out to buy the car in his father's name." This led later to a note dated November 13, 1998, unearthed from a U.N. computer by the Volcker committee, in which Kofi Annan's personal secretary, Wagaye Assebe, relayed a message from Kojo to Kofi Annan, requesting a signature from the U.N. executive office "re: the car he is trying to purchase under your name." Kofi Annan has told the Volcker committee he does not recall seeing this note, and would not have allowed anyone at the U.N. to sign such a request in his name.

But somehow or other, according to Volcker, the Mercedes purchase did take place in Kofi Annan's name, with Kojo Annan paying $39,056 for the car after a 14.3-percent U.N. discount. And sometime around November 13, 1998, Kojo contacted Abdoulie Janneh, who was then serving as resident representative of the U.N. Development Program in Kofi Annan's native Ghana. Janneh, a Gambian who joined the U.N. in 1979, is described in the Volcker report as an Annan "family acquaintance." Kojo Annan asked Janneh's help in arranging to ship the Mercedes into Ghana under duty-free privileges granted exclusively to the secretary-general. Volcker reports that "Kojo Annan falsely represented to Mr. Janneh that the car was intended for the personal use of the Secretary-General."

By Janneh's own account, he did not try to confirm the car's status with any other U.N. officials, including Kofi Annan. According to Volcker: "Mr. Janneh stated that he had no reason to doubt Kojo Annan's representation and he relied on the bill of lading as a supporting document and confirmation that the car was for the Secretary-General" — and so "did not seek additional confirmation about the matter." Thus, reports Volcker, Janneh "filed a formal certification under the seal of the UNDP claiming an exemption from customs duties" with the result that "When the car was shipped to Ghana, Kojo Annan saved $14,013 in import duties because of the false attestation that the car was for the personal use of the Secretary-General."

Volcker's account prompts questions, however, and the secretary-general's apparent lack of interest in addressing them raises even more. For starters, there's the mystery of what became of the Mercedes. If the customs exemption was falsely claimed by the U.N., then presumably the U.N. owes Ghana more than $14,000 on the car. And if the car documentation was in Kofi Annan's name, has any Annan, whether Kofi or Kojo, sold the car, or for that matter, refunded the money? Has the U.N. compensated Ghana? If so, from what budget? And if not, then why not? While $14,000 may be counted by the U.N. secretary-general as petty cash, it is still real money, and for millions in Africa it would be wealth beyond dreaming.