It's surprising how often a very little incident of corruption, once exposed, can illuminate surprisingly large illegalities if you just keep pulling on the connected threads. Thus the story of Kofi Annan's car. Or is it Kojo Annan's car? Or is it the UN's car?
Here is my precis of the known facts:
Kofi Annan sends $15,000 to his son to buy a car. The car is bought in Kofi Annan's name. The car is sent to Ghana under UN seal and without paying duty. What became of the car is now a mystery.
Here are a few questions I wish I knew the answer to:
What is the car's VIN?
Is that VIN registered in Ghana?
Who owns the car now?
How did it come to be in their posession?
Do you own anything else that was bought with a UN discount or crossed a border duty-free under UN seal?
I've no doubt that some journalists have chased down the VIN already but why not distribute it out to the little guys and see if maybe the darn thing pops up in some unexpected place.