UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations has cut back sharply on investigations into corruption and fraud within its ranks -- shelving cases involving the possible theft or misuse of millions of dollars, an Associated Press review has found.

At least five major cases in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa are among the inquiries halted as the U.N. scaled back on self-policing during the past year.

The world body was rocked in the past decade when more than 2,200companies from about 40 countries colluded with the regime of Saddam Hussein to bilk $1.8 billion from a U.N.-administered oil-for-food program for humanitarian relief for Iraq.

In response, the U.N. established a special anti-corruption unit --the Procurement Task Force in 2006. Over the next three years, the task force uncovered at least 20 other major schemes affecting more than $1billion in U.N. contracts and international aid.

At the beginning of 2009, however, the United Nations shuttered the agency and diverted the task force's work to the Office of Internal Oversight Services' permanent investigation division.

Since then, the number of cases opened, pursued or completed has dropped dramatically. And the division has let go most former task-force investigators, the AP found in an examination of U.N.documents, audits and e-mails, along with dozens of interviews with current and former U.N. officials and diplomats.

Over the past year, not a single significant fraud or corruption case has been completed -- compared with an average 150 cases a year investigated by the task force. The permanent investigation division decided not to even pursue about 95 cases left over when the task force ceased operation, and another 80 unfinished cases have languished.

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