UNITED NATIONS, Dec 22: A friend of a former United Nations procurement official on Thursday pleaded guilty in a US court to then charges of bribery in return for securing lucrative UN contracts.

The businessman, Nishan Kohli, pleaded guilty in the Manhattan federal court to a single count of bribery after acknowledging that he had given cash payments to Sanjaya Bahel, who was chief of the commodity procurement section of the United Nations procurement division from 1998 to 2003. Mr Kohli faces up to 10 years in prison.

He also acknowledged that from 2003 to 2005, he allowed Mr Bahel to pay reduced rent at a high-rise apartment that Mr Kohli owned in the Dag Hammarskjold Towers, near the United Nations headquarters. In May 2005, Mr Kohli sold the unit to Mr Bahel at a price so far below the market value that the condominium’s board considered blocking the sale, prosecutors said. Mr Kohli also gave Mr Bahel a cellphone that allowed them to speak privately.

Mr Kohli’s guilty plea is the latest development in a series of corruption charges against United Nations officials and those seeking to do business with them. The plea and Mr Kohli’s agreement to cooperate with the government are likely to strengthen the case against Mr Bahel, who has pleaded not guilty to bribery charges.