 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
 by Staff Writers Paris (AFP) Oct 7, 2019
Three top former French government aides went on trial Monday charged with arranging a system of kickbacks on arms deals with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the 1990s. The trial is the first to arise out of a sprawling investigation into the so-called Karachi affair, named after the Pakistani city where a bus carrying French defence engineers was blown up in 2002, killing 15 people. Al-Qaeda was initially suspected of the attack, but the focus later shifted to the arms deals amid suspicions the bombing may have been revenge for non-payment of promised bribes. A total of six people went on trial in a Paris criminal court Monday on suspicion of misappropriating part of the proceeds from the arms deals. They included three former government aides who served under conservative ex-prime minister Edouard Balladur. Balladur, 90, was himself last week ordered to stand trial over claims that he used some of the kickbacks to fund his failed 1995 presidential bid. The three aides are Nicolas Bazire, Balladur's former campaign manager; Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, a former advisor to his defence minister Francois Leotard; and Thierry Gaubert, a former aide to then budget minister Nicolas Sarkozy. Also accused are Dominique Castellan, a former head of the international division of French naval defence contractor DCN (since renamed Naval Group), and two Lebanese middlemen who allegedly acted as go-betweens for the bribes and kickbacks -- Ziad Takieddine and Abdul Rahman El-Assir. El-Assir was not present at the start of the trial. - Chirac ended arms bribes - Paying bribes on arms deals was common practice when Balladur's government won contracts to sell submarines to Pakistan and frigates to Saudi Arabia in 1994. Earning kickbacks on the deals was banned, however. Investigators suspect the French of having paid some 327 million euros ($359 million) in bribes on the deals, including some 13 million euros in kickbacks. After defeating Balladur for the presidency in 1995, Chirac ended the payment of all remaining commissions on the deals. Balladur has denied knowledge of any commissions or kickbacks and said he was not responsible for the "details" of the financing of his presidential campaign. He and his former defence minister Leotard, 77, have been charged with complicity in the alleged misappropriation of part of the proceeds of the arms deals. Both will be tried by the Court of Justice of the Republic, a separate tribunal that hears cases of alleged misconduct by ministers and prime ministers in the course of their duties. sb/cb/mlr/dcr
India defends right to buy Russian arms on US trip Washington (AFP) Sept 30, 2019 India's foreign minister on Monday defended his country's right to buy a missile defense system from Russia despite the threat of sanctions from the United States. On a visit to Washington, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said India was discussing the US concerns but declined to forecast the ultimate decision on the fate of the S-400 purchase from Russia. "We have always maintained that what we buy - the sourcing of military equipment - is very much a sovereign right," he told reporters ahead o ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
