The former chief of the UN-run Iraq oil-for-food programme has resigned.
Benon Sevan announced his decision yesterday in a scathing letter that condemned UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the UN Security Council, the United Nations' critics, and the independent inquiry committee investigating the allegations of corruption against him.
"As I predicted, a high-profile investigative body invested with absolute power would feel compelled to target someone and that someone turned out to be me," Mr Sevan wrote in the letter.
"The charges are false, and you, who have known me for all these years, should know that they are false."
The resignation comes just a day before investigators release a report that is expected to accuse him of taking kickbacks under the €50 billion humanitarian operation
The resignation is largely symbolic because the UN was paying Mr Sevan just one dollar a year to keep him on payroll so he would co-operate with the committee. But it removes his diplomatic immunity and could leave him open to prosecution.
Mr Sevan, a Cypriot citizen believed to be in Nicosia, is also being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
On Thursday, his lawyer said the committee would find in its upcoming report that Mr Sevan got kickbacks for steering contracts under oil-for-food to a small trading company called African Middle East Petroleum Co. Ltd.
Mr Lewis said it would also accuse Mr Sevan of failing to co-operate with the investigation. The amount of money his client allegedly took is not currently known, but a figure of €120,000 has been mooted.