Private investigator P Balasubramaniam will be the first key witness for the French police, despite a suspicious move by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission not to record his statement in London last week.
At 2pm Paris time or 8pm Malaysian time, a French investigating team will meet and interview Bala at the Direction Centrale de la Police (DNIF) in Nanterre Prefecture.
There, Bala, a former Malaysian Special Branch detective, will try his best to tell them as much as he knows about Prime Minister Najib Razak’s RM6.7 billion acquisition of two Scorpene submarines from French defense firm DCNS.
“The French police are interested to find out what Bala knows about the commission disbursement in the 2002 submarines deal. This is what I was told by Bala’s lawyers. He has agreed to see the French authorities and will co-operate fully,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
“The question that we need to keep highlighting to Malaysians is why did our MACC back off from the London meeting at the last minute when everything had already been prepared? Were they scared to speak to Bala or were they afraid to hear what he has to say? Did Najib exert pressure on them to change their minds and why do they try to insinuate Bala is not reliable, but yet to the French, he is a key witness?
Information could incriminate Najib
Indeed, the MACC may have reason to fear Bala’s testimony. The private eye was privy to information disclosed to him by Najib’s close friend Razak Baginda.
It is actually the RM570 million co-ordination and support services contract that Najib granted a firm controlled by Baginda that is now at the heart of the French corruption probe, following a complaint lodged by Malaysian civil rights group SUARAM in Paris earlier this year.
Last month, French prosecutors in charge of the Malaysian file had ordered the police to raid DCNS. Their aim was to find out who were the beneficiaries of the kickbacks or commission that was allegedly paid. DCNS has a notorious record of bribing politicians and is currently also facing inquiries on Taiwanese and Pakistani arms purchases.
“When I was in Paris last month, I met many French lawyers and they say Malaysian taxpayers have a strong case. The French legal circle has their own grapevine and they know the key facts of our case. They believe that the kickbacks involve high-ranking politicians from both France and Malaysia,” Tian said.
If there is sufficient evidence, France may prosecute the wrongdoers although it may not have jurisdiction on the Malaysian personalities involved. Nevertheless, Tian and SUARAM have urged the French authorities to make public all their findings so that their Malaysian counterparts can take action at home. The Malaysian government or navy may also sue DCNS for recovery of the commission if the French courts find that it did violate the anti-corruption clause.
"Yes, there is worry that even if the French provide all the details, the Najib administration won't do anything but it is important for the record to stand so that future governments - whether BN or Pakatan Rakyat - can still pursue for the sake of transparency and justice," Tian said.
Blackout
The Malaysian government has slapped an unofficial blackout on the case, refusing to initiate any probe or to even divulge if it was true that the contracts signed with DCNS contained an anti-corruption clause that makes it illegal for DCNS to pay any commission or form of kickback.
SUARAM was forced to lodge a complaint with the French authorities after the Najib administration refused to heed public outrage over the deal and launch a full-scale investigation. Bala will be accompanied by his lawyer Manjit Singh Dhillon.
The submarines purchase is also linked to the murder of a Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaariibuu, whom Bala has said in a statutory declaration made in 2008 had helped Baginda close the deal with DCNS.
He was hired by Baginda to stop her from blackmailing him for her US$500,000 share of commission. At a press conference in London last week, Bala said he was convinced Baginda was just a scapegoat and was not involved in Altantuya’s killing.
Bala has also implicated Najib, his wife Rosmah, Najib’s aide-de-camp Musa Safri and special aide Nasir Safar in the Altanutya case. Two former bodyguards of Najib’s and Rosmah’s have been sentenced to hang for the murder, but speculation remains rife as to who were the real masterminds. Neither of the two bodyguards had met Altantuya until the night she was killed. Both pleaded not guilty and say they were victims of a conspiracy but did not give further details.
“They may have held the gun but somebody else could have pulled the trigger,” PKR vice president Sivarasa Rasaiah told Malaysia Chronicle.
No comments:
Post a Comment