Interpol to arrest Najib? Scorpene, Altantuya, Umno

A highly-classified document - an evaluation by the Malaysian Navy of the Scorpene-class submarines to be purchased by the government - had been allegedly "bought" by a French defence company.

French lawyer Joseph Breham, who is acting on behalf of human rights NGO Suaram, revealed that the company had allegedly paid 36 million euro (RM142 million) to Terasasi (Hong Kong) Ltd, ostensibly for "commercial engineering" works.

At a press conference in Bangkok yesterday, Breham (right) revealed, saying, "French investigative judges probing the case lodged by Suaram against Paris-owned shipmaker DCNS for alleged corruption have inquired what those payments were and demanded reports of financial transactions from the company. They (the inquiry judges) were given information which are already available in the Internet and newspapers, except for this one document. It was a secret document by the Malaysian Navy - an evaluation for the order of the submarines, which is a highly confidential report," 

Breham, who based his expose on the French prosecution papers, told journalists at the Foreign Correspondence Club of Thailand that the act of "selling" top secret papers to a foreign country such as this was considered a treasonous act and stressed that, in Franc, it would be absolutely illegal to sell such reports as it could either be considered a breach of defence secrets or high treason.

When asked by a journalist if it was legal for an individual to sell such reports, Breham replied, "It's treason because you are selling a competitor or a foreign country what you think about a specific weapon, and your plan on how to use this specific weapon."

Breham, who is with Sherpa, a non-profit legal and human rights Paris-based NGO representing Suaram in the legal action, said, "In France, if you release them (the secret documents), you can be punished up to 10 years jail."

Najib can be arrested by Interpol

Hong Kong-based Terasasi - two Terasasi directors are Najib's close ally Abdul Razak Baginda and the latter's father Abdul Malim Baginda - had been accused of funneling money through its accounts to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak as "commissions" on the sale of the submarines that were purchased from the French company Thales International, also known as Thint Asia, in a deal inked in 2002 when Najib was defence minister and deputy prime minister.

Thales, an off-shoot of French defence giant DCN, later changed its name to DCNS, is a company facing legal charges filed by Suaram in 2010 and the case has recently opened in the French court.

Najib (left), who has refused to comment on the matter, has also denied ever being involved in the scandal, but Breham has reiterated that the PM cannot avoid testifying in a French court if he is either subpoenaed or issued a warrant of arrest by Interpol, adding that it was possible that Thales decided to pay the money to obtain the classified document so that it could better bid for the project, and this meant "paying someone to commit an offence".

In 2006, Razak, together with two of Najib's former bodyguards were charged for the murder of Mongolian national, Altantuya Shaariibuu, but the political analyst was acquited without his defence being called.

Daim ally, Razak Baginda named as ‘political network agents’ in Scorpene probe

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

May 30, 2012

Malaysia paid RM6.7 billion in 2009 for two Scorpene submarines.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — Secret documents obtained during the on-going Scorpene submarine probe have revealed the roles of an alleged ally of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin as well as Abdul Razak Baginda in procuring major defence contracts between France and Malaysia, Suaram has said. The human rights group said that police have seized documents in the form of a note for the French Minister of Defence dated June 2, 1999. This was in relation to an interview on Malaysian and French strategic defence ties with the then Malaysian Minister of Defence Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
It said that the note read that pursuant to major defence contracts between France and Malaysia, there was a “requirement” that a substantial transfer of money had to be channelled to individuals and/or political organisations.
“The note specifically states that apart from individuals, the ruling party (Umno) is the biggest beneficiary. Consultants (company agents) are often used as political network agents to facilitate these monetary transfers and to receive commissions from their mandators.
“The note mentions about Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Noor and Abdul Razak as points of reference for the political network,” said Suaram in a statement today.
Suaram said that according to the note, Mohd Ibrahim’s influence began to wane by early 2001 following Daim’s “fall from power”, which then resulted in his “disappearance” from Perimekar Sdn Bhd as both shareholder and director.
Malaysia paid RM6.7 billion in 2009 for the two submarines of which RM574 million was earmarked for co-ordination and support services for Perimekar Sdn Bhd, owned by Abdul Razak Baginda. Abdul Razak is being sought as a witness in the French case.
The note also said that Daim’s ally was later replaced by Abdul Razak’s own “people”, and that he eventually became the main point of reference for the political network to facilitate money transfers.
“On the contrary, Abdul Razak maintained excellent ties with the Minister of Defence and the Prime Minister. Furthermore, his wife is a close friend of the Minister of Defence’s wife. Therefore, Baginda became the centre of the network: Terasasi is linked to Baginda while Perimekar was initially controlled by Mohd Noor,” the note added.