[JURIST] A former UN official pleaded guilty [US DOJ press release, PDF] Monday to US charges that he accepted close to $1 million in bribes from UN contractors in the Oil-for-Food scandal [JURIST news archive]. Alexander Yakovlev, a procurement officer and the first UN official to face criminal charges, pleaded guilty to accepting and soliciting bribes, wire fraud, and money laundering after having his diplomatic immunity stripped [Kommersant report] by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Yakovlev resigned in June in response to separate allegations that he helped his son get a job with a company working with the UN. AP has more.