United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan has dismissed a UN employee linked to a tainted procurement process during the oil-for-food scandal.

Joseph Stephanides has dismissed for serious misconduct following a “thorough review of the case” by the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC).

It found a UN steering committee had “prejudiced and pre-empted the competitive process in a manner that rejected the lowest qualified bidder” with the “active participation” of Mr Stephanides.

According to the IIC report, Mr Stephanides violated procurement rules to enable Lloyd’s Register Inspection to secure a multimillion-dollar contract.

However it said it did “not doubt the sincerity of Mr Stephanides’ view that Lloyd’s was the best company for the contract.