A draft United Nations memo suggests that dozens allegations of sexual abuse against UN peacekeepers in Central African Republic have been fabricated by people seeking financial payoffs.
The revelations put the spotlight back on how the world body deals with abuse cases.
In December an independent review panel criticised the United Nations for mishandling allegations of child sexual abuse by international peacekeepers, who were not under UN command, in Central African Republic.
The 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping force there, known as MINUSCA, has been dogged by allegations of sexual abuse since its deployment in April 2014 to curb fighting between the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels and the anti-balaka Christian militias.
French troops deployed in a separate intervention in the former French colony have also been accused of abuses.
The United Nations in March expanded its inquiry into new accusations of sexual abuse and exploitation in the country's Dekoa region.
It told France, Gabon and Burundi that dozens of accusations had been made against their soldiers in MINUSCA.
However, an internal August 24 memo - seen by Reuters and written by the chief of the UN Department of Field Support's Conduct and Discipline Unit suggested many accusations were strikingly similar and appeared to be motivated by financial gain.
Written by Mercedes Gervilla, the memo, citing information from the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, said: "OIOS notes that many of the complaints followed a specific pattern of accusations; many of the complainants' stories were nearly identical, lacked specific details and fell apart when probed. It appeared as though the complainants had memorised a script."
The memo said a local charity tasked with referring abuse accusations to the UN children's agency UNICEF had placed complainants on a monthly remuneration scheme, offering a financial incentive for people to present themselves as victims.
The memo appeared to be a draft as it had not been signed by Gervilla.
UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said it had a long-standing arrangement with a local charity to provide care to children and women who come forward as victims of sexual abuse. She said cash transfers to those people were a "routine part" of the response to sexual abuse and exploitation.
Mercado said that as part of the response to the accusations of abuses in Dekoa, the charity had provided a one-time payment of $US35 ($A46) to 106 self-described victims.
Gervilla estimated that about 50 per cent of cases were not supported by any evidence and only 20 per cent by substantive evidence.
