Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Campaign Polling
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Anatole Kaletsky
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Mark Leonard
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. See more
Images of May
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Raging Colorado wildfire grows near US Air Force Academy
|
25 Jun 2012
Raging Colorado wildfire grows, threatens gated community
|
25 Jun 2012
Arizona governor hails immigration ruling, opponents dismayed
25 Jun 2012
Three dead in Mexico airport gunfight between police
12:23am EDT
Texas grid sets June power record, urges conservation
25 Jun 2012
Discussed
128
Obama campaign requests outside Republican group disclose donors
119
House panel to vote on Holder contempt charge: aide
91
California tobacco tax hike narrowly defeated at polls
Watched
Fatal shooting at Mexico City airport
Mon, Jun 25 2012
Wildfires rage in Colorado
Mon, Jun 25 2012
Jim O’Neill: Everyone could be "taken down" by euro crisis - Freeland File
Mon, Jun 25 2012
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Battleground Arizona
A look at the fight over Arizona's controversial immigration law. Slideshow
Best of Euro 2012
Highlights from all the Euro 2012 action. Slideshow
Submarine scandal surfaces to trouble Malaysia PM ahead of polls
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related Topics
World »
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak delivers his speech during the launch of the new Malaysia-made Proton Preve in Kuala Lumpur April 16, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Bazuki Muhammad
By Stuart Grudgings and Rachel Will
KUALA LUMPUR |
Tue Jun 26, 2012 3:57am EDT
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's government will address allegations on Tuesday over its purchase of two French submarines, responding to a scandal that threatens to tarnish Prime Minister Najib Razak ahead of elections he is expected to call later this year.
Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is due to speak in parliament on allegations that Malaysian navy documents were sold to French shipbuilding giant DCNS to help its bid for the 1 billion euro ($1.25 billion) contract it won in 2002.
Najib, defence minister at the time, has for years denied allegations of wrongdoing in the purchase of the Scorpene-class submarines. There has been no evidence linking him directly to corruption in the deal and his supporters say the political opposition is behind efforts to revive the issue just ahead of the election.
But his government is under mounting pressure to give a fuller explanation of the dealings after documents in a French court case brought by a Malaysian human rights group were leaked and picked up by the country's lively online media.
The documents, including records seized by French prosecutors in a raid on DCNS's offices, detail payments made to two companies set up by former political analyst Razak Baginda, a former associate of Najib who worked on the submarine deal.
The documents, most of which were published this week by online media group Asia Sentinel, contain a report prepared for DCNS stating that major defence contracts required "substantial transfers of money to individuals and/or organizations".
"In Malaysia, usually ... the ruling party is the largest beneficiary," the document said, referring to Najib's long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
Another document quotes a former top DCNS executive saying that Perimekar, one of Razak Baginda's companies, appeared to be little more than a "travel agency" set up to create "unjust enrichment" for its shareholders.
MONGOLIAN MURDERED
Joseph Breham, a lawyer representing rights group SUARAM in the French case, told Reuters that the leaked documents were genuine.
"We cannot prove the money went to UMNO. But we can prove the money had no counterpart. If it was not for corruption, they paid for nothing," Breham said.
Officials at DCNS, a state-controlled company part-owned by defence electronics group Thales, could not immediately be reached for comment. Malaysian government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A source close to Malaysia's government said that SUARAM was heavily linked to the country's opposition, which is aiming to topple the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in elections that Najib must call by March. Government supporters say that civil prosecutions, such as that brought by SUARAM, are common in France and are no indication that a crime has been committed.
Breham told reporters at a news conference in Bangkok last month that a confidential Malaysian navy document assessing the French bid was sold to DCNS by another Razak Baginda-controlled firm, Terasasi, for 36 million euros. Opposition politicians have said that would amount to treason, if proved to be true.
Malaysia's government has acknowledged that Perimekar received 114 million euros for its support services, but has yet to comment on the role of Hong Kong-based Terasasi.
The documents also mention Razak Baginda's relationship with Altantuya Shaariibuu, a murdered Mongolian interpreter and model who was blown up with military-grade explosives near Kuala Lumpur in 2006. Razak Baginda was acquitted of the murder but two of Najib's bodyguards were convicted and jailed for killing the woman. Razak Baginda is believed to have moved to Europe and could not be reached for comment.
The allegations emerging from the French court have helped galvanize Malaysia's opposition. The coalition is expected to win the election but its victory is far from guaranteed after the opposition made shock gains in 2008 that shook the BN's half-century grip on power.
"Any implication that the Scorpene deal involved corruption would be enough to derail him (Najib)," opposition MP Tony Pua told Reuters at a recent dinner to raise funds for SUARAM's legal expenses.
(Writing by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Nick Macfie)
World
Related Quotes and News
Company
Price
Related News
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.