Washington | United States politicians lashed the federal government for standing by Australia's most senior United Nations diplomat over allegations Francis Gurry sidestepped international sanctions to ship computers to North Korea in exchange for the rogue state supporting him at UN elections.
Likening the claims to a "FIFA" vote rigging scandal, influential Congress committee leaders probing the long-standing allegations demanded Australia force Dr Gurry to resign as director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organisation. 
The spat has fuelled rare diplomatic tensions between the usually tight-knit Australian and United States' political systems.
Chairman of the US House subcommittee for international organisations, Republican Christopher Smith, said he was "shocked" and "bewildered" by the Australian inaction.
"The Australians are very close friends and allies," he said at a hearing on Wednesday.
"If you have a bad apple, expunge your bad apple. This is hurting their reputation."
Switzerland-based WIPO, led by Dr Gurry since 2008, is the powerful UN agency that rules on thousands of international patent and trademark applications.
The agency employs about 1300 people and has an annual budget of almost $1 billion.
In explosive testimony in Washington on Wednesday, Dr Gurry was also accused by self-proclaimed whistleblowers, Australian former diplomat Miranda Brown and American ex-WIPO official Jim Pooley, of other acts of misconduct.
The extraordinary claims include that he ignored diplomatic immunity rights of staff and orchestrated the so-called "theft" of DNA from personal items belonging to WIPO colleagues, to help Swiss police track down a culprit who anonymously sent defamatory letters about Dr Gurry to him and WIPO staff in 2007.
Mr Pooley also claimed Dr Gurry had interfered in a procurement tender for IT equipment, to award the contract to a person he knew at a Sydney digital consulting firm.
The allegations, previously detailed by The Australian Financial Review over the past two years, have been repeatedly denied by Dr Gurry and the Sydney firm.
After several start-stop internal evaluations by WIPO, the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services has investigated the claims and is understood to be close to finalising a report to determine if there is any substance to the three main allegations.
Dr Gurry, 64, said in an email response to the Financial Review last week that he welcomed accountability and good governance, and was confident of the outcome.
"There are many blatant falsehoods, which are quite easily refuted, and so they will be in the proper forum in the proper time," he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, just weeks into her new job after the election in 2013, publicly supported Dr Gurry's re-election as WIPO chief when the allegations were hanging over his head. Cambridge-educated Dr Gurry is a globally-renowned IP expert from Melbourne with more than 30 years' experience.
Ms Bishop's spokeswoman said it supported Dr Gurry's candidacy for WIPO director general based on his "accomplished record".
"Australia continues to support the United Nations investigation running its course without pre-judging outcomes," she said. "Australia's interest remains in seeing this matter resolved in a proper and timely fashion."
After witnesses testified at a Congress hearing last week, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen called on the Obama administration to use its influence to remove Dr Gurry from office.
The ranking Democrat member for the subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Brad Sherman, said WIPO seemed like the "FIFA of UN agencies" for buying off small countries. Mr Sherman proposed a resolution demanding an audit and disclosure of the UN's investigative report. He said Dr Gurry should resign.
Key points
Testimony in Washington accuses WIPO head Francis Gurry of misconduct.
UN also investigates allegations and is said to be close to finalising a report.