Subs deal: Probe zeroes in on 'missing link'

(Malaysiakini) It is understood within the French legal fraternity that the judicial probe into the submarine deal between the Malaysian government and French defence giant DCNS has gathered sufficient evidence of corruption, said Batu MP Tian Chua.

"The only missing link is (the identity of) the French politician involved," said Chua (right), who returned
from Paris last week after meeting with experts in the field.

This follows the confiscation of files pertaining to the Malaysian deal by French financial police during their raid of DCNS's offices earlier this month.

The Paris prosecutor's office in March opened an investigation into the 2002 sale following a complaint lodged last year by the Malaysian human rights group Suaram.

According to Chua, the French politician's identity will be "very revealing information" as there is heavy public interest in DCNS due to a similar case involving the Pakistani government.

The probe into the Pakistan arms deal, which has reached the second of the three-stage judicial process, has been under intense media scrutiny as it implicates French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Similar 'kickbacks' in Pakistan

Chua said that it is believed that evidence gathered from the probe into the Malaysian deal can support the case against DCNS over the Pakistan arms deal.

"The pattern of corruption is the same, (where) the amount of kickbacks commission is also about 10 percent," he added.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Defence revealed that it paid consulting company Perimekar Sdn Bhd 114.96 million euro (RM574.8 million) to facilitate the purchase of two Scorpene submarines worth 969.15 million euros (RM4.85 billion).

Perimekar is owned by Abdul Razak Baginda, who is a close associate of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The government said that the money paid to Perimekar was for “coordination and support services”, which represents 10 percent of the total price of the two submarines, worth 969.15 million euros (RM4.85 billion).

It is this portion which is currently investigated by the French authorities as it is suspected that this could be "commissions", and as such illegal under French laws.

Perimekar now falls under the heavy industries division of conglomerate Boustead Holdings Berhad, which Chua said has formed a joint-venture with DCNS to provide maintenance services for the two submarines, which he said is worth at least RM600 million over a period of six years.