The United Nations is aware of the reporting done by Al Jazeera investigations concerning allegations of corruption against senior officials in Bangladesh and the press release issued by the Ministry of Defence in Bangladesh, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General, said in response to a question during a briefing on Thursday.

"The allegations of corruption [are] a serious matter that should be investigated by the relevant authorities," he said.

"Bangladesh is the largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations. The deployment of such personnel is pursuant to specific requirements from the UN that are reflected in agreements with Bangladesh for each peacekeeping operation that they contribute to," spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said.

"The UN has not identified in any of these agreements a requirement for the capability provided by the operation of electronic equipment in the nature described by Al Jazeera in its documentary, and such equipment has not been deployed with Bangladeshi contingents in UN peacekeeping operations," he added.

"We have required in one peacekeeping operation, in line with the relevant UN intelligence peacekeeping policy, the capability to intercept certain types of communications as a measure to enhance the security of UN personnel in situations where security conditions warrant its use.  This capability is employed strictly in accordance with UN Peacekeeping‑Intelligence Policy and under the operational authority of the Force Commander," Dujarric said.