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France charges Razak Baginda with graft over Scorpene deal

A CLOSE associate of Prime Minister Najib Razak has been charged in France over alleged kickbacks in the 2002 sale of submarines to Malaysia, a judicial source told AFP today.

Abdul Razak Baginda advised Najib when the prime minister was defence minister between 2000 and 2008.

Najib oversaw the deal, worth nearly €1 billion (RM5 billion), to buy two Scorpene-class submarines and one Agosta-class submarine from French naval dockyards unit DCN, which is linked to French defence group Thales.

An investigation into the deal was launched in 2010, in response to a complaint from Malaysian rights group Suaram.

As part of the deal, DCN agreed to pay €30 million to Thales' Asian unit, Thales International Asia (Thint Asia).

The investigation revealed that another company, Terasasi, whose main shareholder was Razak, received an equivalent sum for what was billed as consultancy work, but which investigators believe was really a front for kickbacks.

Razak was charged in France on July 18 with "active and passive complicity in corruption" and "misappropriation of corporate assets", the French judicial source said.

Four French defence industry executives have been charged since the investigation began.

They are two former chairmen of DCNI, Philippe Japiot and Dominique Castellan, and two former heads of Thint Asia, Bernard Baiocco and Jean-Paul Perrier.

All four men deny the charges against them.

French investigators are also looking into allegations that €114 million was paid to a purported Malaysia-based shell company, Perimekar, as part of the deal.

That company was controlled, at the time, by Razak's wife.

However, that payment is likely to ultimately fall outside the jurisdiction of the investigation because it was not made to a French company.

The affair emerged spectacularly in 2006, when Razak's Mongolian mistress, who was said to have demanded a pay-off for working as a language translator in the deal, was shot dead and her body blown up with plastic explosives near Kuala Lumpur.

A Malaysian court later cleared Razak of abetting the murder, sparking an outcry and opposition allegations of a cover-up.

Najib is currently embroiled in a money-laundering scandal involving state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which he founded. – AFP, August 1, 2017.

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Razak Baginda didakwa di Perancis

ABDUL Razak Baginda yang pernah jadi penasihat kepada Perdana Menteri Najib Razak didakwa di Perancis berhubung kes penjualan kapal selam kepada Malaysia pada 2002, kata sumber kehakiman kepada AFP hari ini.

Razak merupakan penasihat kepada Najib semasa perdana menteri menjawat jawatan menteri pertahanan antara 2000 dan 2008.

Dalam tempoh tersebut, Najib menyelia perjanjian pembelian dua buah kapal selam Scorpene dan sebuah kapal selam jenis Agosta bernilai €1 billion (RM5 bilion) dari unit limbungan kapal DCN Perancis, yang dikaitkan dengan Kumpulan Thales, sebuah syarikat teknologi pertahanan di negara itu.

Siasatan ke atas perjanjian itu dilancarkan pada 2010, susulan aduan yang dikemukakan pertubuhan hak asasi Malaysia, Suaram.

Antara syarat perjanjian itu, DCN bersetuju membayar €30 juta kepada cawangan Thales di Asia, Thales International Asia (Thint Asia).

Siasatan kemudian mendedahkan sebuah lagi syarikat iaitu Terasasi di mana Razak merupakan pemegang saham utamanya, menerima sejumlah wang yang sama yang dibilkan sebagai bayaran perundingan. Agensi penyiasat bagaimanapun percaya wang itu sebagai sogokan.

Razak didakwa di Perancis pada 18 Julai lepas atas tuduhan “bersubahat dengan aktif dan pasif dalam rasuah” dan “penyelewengan harta korporat”, kata sumber kehakiman Perancis.

Empat eksekutif industri pertahanan Perancis setakat ini didakwa sejak siasatan tersebut bermula.Mereka ialah bekas pengerusi DCNI, Philippe Japiot dan Dominique Castellan, serta dua bekas pegawai kanan Thint Asia, Bernard Baiocco dan Jean-Paul Perrier. Kesemua mereka menafikan tuduhan.

Pasukan penyiasat di Perancis juga sedang meneliti dakwaan kononnya €114 juta dibayar kepada Perimekar Sdn Bhd sebagai sebahagian daripada urus niaga tersebut.

Syarikat tersebut pada masa itu dikawal isteri Razak.

Pembayaran komisyen itu bagaimanapun tidak tertakluk kepada bidang kuasa siasatan mahkamah di Perancis kerana tidak melibatkan syarikat republik tersebut.

Skandal pembelian kapal selam ini timbul pada 2006 selepas seorang wanita Mongolia, Altantuya Shaariibuu yang dikatakan menuntut bayaran upah sebagai penterjemah dalam urusniaga tersebut mati dibunuh dekat Kuala Lumpur.

Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam pada 31 Oktober 2008 membebaskan Razak tanpa dipanggil membela diri atas tuduhan bersubahat membunuh Altantuya selepas perbicaraan kes selama 151 hari. – 1 Ogos, 2017.

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