IAEA supremo's armoured vehicle fleet for beleaguered Zaporizhzia plant obervers raises accountants' eyebrows

 VIENNA – International Atomic Energy Agency supremo Rafael Grossi has raised accountants’ eyebrows at the purportedly cash-strapped organization by splashing out some 1 million euros on a fleet of armoured Toyota Land Cruisers, having failed to persuade the UN to take charge with existing vehicles available of shuttling his teams of lookouts to and from Ukraine to monitor the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, IAEA sources say.

 Dozens of IAEA staff remain effectively trapped at five nuclear sites in Ukraine including Zaporizhzhia with winter temperatures plummeting, miles behind the front lines in an active war zone. When Grossi’s fleet of six Land Cruisers first arrived he complained that the IAEA logo on the side was too small, so the flamboyant Argentine director general ordered them sent back to the paintshop for a costly respray with larger logos.

 Insiders say that much of the time the fleet remains languishing in the Agency’s garage in Vienna. To meet an evident shortage of drivers Grossi hired as an “international driver,” a 39-year-old blonde Swedish actress, stunt-woman, kickboxer and sharpshooter, Madeleine Vall. Her exact duties are unclear.

 IAEA watchers also have criticized some of the expenditure of a cash pile that built up from stopping the technical work of the agency including a new desk for Grossi’s office suite, allegedly costing a mere 40,000 euros. “Larger sums of cash continue to be bunged to mates of Grossi for posts which didn’t previously exist and are unnecessary, using non-competitive recruitment,” an IAEA well-placed source told the Insider. Examples are Daniela Caratas, a long time friend of Grossi and fellow Argentinian Bianca Carpinelli who according to her linked in page advised the Argentinian foreign minister at age 23 and a few years on now is shuffling paper in Vienna on a handsome salary.

 At the agency’s Department of Nuclear Agency, Russian czar Mikhail Chudakov allegedly splurges cash on fancy business trips and cushy contracts for Russian comrade. All key staff positions in Nuclear Energy have been given to Russians or their allies, insiders say.

 A freshly gifted post of Resource Mobilisation Coordinator was gifted to Grossi’s long-time ally, Alina Josan, with the aim of bringing in cash pledges from Member States. Despite Ms Josan’s frenzied shopping trips around the world, however, Member States seem unwilling to invest in what they fear may be an effective scam arranged by a husband and wife team from the Russian state corporation ROSATOM, Vladimir Artisiuk and Alesia Iunikova, who recently joined the IAEA and are not known for being overzealous.

 Grossi’s executive jet has been worn down in recent years as he zooms around the world having his photo taken with world leaders at every opportunity as part of his campaign to become the next UN Secretary General. Such is a the personality cult at the IAEA that staff know words in Agency draft reports don’t get checked, but the DG’s ever-smiling photo must appear on virtually every page or the whole draft will be sent back for re-designing.

 jf