101 EAST ~ Murder in Malaysia (a film by Mary Ann Jolley)

Published 10 Sep 2015

Shot, then blown to smithereens with military grade explosives, the 2006 killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu was one of Malaysia’s most sensational murder cases. Even though years have passed since the young Mongolian woman’s death, it is one case that has refused to disappear. If anything, the mystery has deepened.

101 East investigates those who were involved in the case and asks whether the two men convicted of her murder are “fall guys” for others who ordered the killing of Shaariibuu.

Excuse me, Mr Pink Lips, but your fly is wide open... & the case isn't closed!

courtesy of Malaysiakini

THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT MUST TELL US ABOUT THE ROLE OF TERASASI

Dr Kua Kia Soong

Having had the privilege of looking at some of the PARIS PAPERS on the Scorpene scandal recently, it behooves me to give anxious landlubbers a “hitchhiker’s guide” to this convoluted mesh of payments that have gone on to grease this most expensive (more than RM7 billion) arms purchase in Malaysia’s history.

Since SUARAM lodged its complaint with the French courts for a judicial review of the Scorpene contract in November 2009, the French prosecutors have certainly been busy with their investigations. They have interviewed officials in the French state company, DCN and related companies such as Thales as well as officials in the French ministry of defence. They have looked into bank vaults and scrutinized contracts, memoranda of understanding, memoranda of intent, invoices, bank accounts of various people including Abdul Razak Baginda. There are also some rather telling internal confidential reports of DCN and the French ministry of defence.

What Malaysians See Above Water

So far, the Malaysian Ministry of Defence has told Parliament that:

1. The cost of two Scorpene submarines together with logistic support and training was close to 1 billion euros;

2. Payment to Perimekar Sdn Bhd for “coordination services” was 114 million euros.

Malaysian tax payers will still need to pay even more for maintenance services, support & test equipment, missiles and torpedoes, infrastructure for the submarine base, training of crew, etc. The total bill for these two submarines will be in excess of RM7 billion.

But are these two the only transactions in a sordid affair that has claimed the life of a fair Mongolian lass named Altantuya?

Perimekar Never More than a Travel Agency

Negotiations on the submarine contract started in 1999. At the time, the French state company DCN had this view of Perimekar:

“The amount to be paid to Perimekar is over-evaluated. It is not worth it…They are never more than a travel agency…The price is inflated and their support function is very vague…Yes, that company created unfounded wealth for its shareholders.”

But this system was created by the Malaysian government so DCN had no choice.

Before 2002, French Bribes to Foreign Officials Were Tax Deductible!

Before 2002, when new laws in France and OECD Convention were brought in to make bribing of foreign officials a crime, any money used to bribe foreign officials was even tax deductible! Such is the nature of arms deals all over the world.

The former finance director of DCN, Gerarde Philippe Maneyas had made a claim for 32 million euros (RM124 million) allegedly used to bribe Malaysian officials for purchase of the Scorpenes. The budget minister had questioned such a large bribe although he did eventually authorize the tax break.

Bypassing French Law and OECD Convention

Najib Razak, then defence minister & deputy prime minister,
and Altantuya Shaariibuu, murdered Mongolian translator

With the new French law and OECD Convention against corruption in place after 2002, the French arms merchants had to find a way to pay commissions to their foreign clients. The method used was to create “service providers” that could “increase invoices” in order to take the place of commissions.

Thus, when the French state company DCN terminated its contracts, Thales took over as a private company, not involving the state. Thales International was appointed to coordinate the political connections.

A commercial engineering contract was then signed between DCNI and Thales, referred to as “C5”. It covered 30 million euros in commercial costs abroad. The companies used in the Malaysian case were” Gifen in Malta, Eurolux in Luxemburg and Technomar in Belgium. The travel expenses of Baginda and Altantuya were covered by these.

Another “consulting agreement” was signed in 2000 between Thint Asia and Terasasi for 2.5 million euros.

Commissions and Dividends through Perimekar & Terasasi

Mr & Mrs Abdul Razak Baginda

The commissions and dividends for the Scorpene deal were funneled through two companies, Terasasi and Perimekar, both owned by Abdul Razak Baginda. His wife, Mazlinda is a director in Perimekar while his father is also a director in Terasasi.

Malaysians have heard about Perimekar and its “coordinating service” in the submarines deal. But so far there has been no mention of Terasasi.

Could the Minister of defence tell the Malaysian public and Parliament the exact role of Terasasi in this Scorpene deal?

From the Paris Papers, we know that at least 32 million euros (RM144 million) were paid by Thales International (Thint) Asia to Terasasi. There is an invoice by Terasasi dated 1.10.2000 for 100,000 euros. There is also an invoice from Terasasi to Thint Asia, dated 28.8.2004 for 359,450 euros (RM1.44 million) with a hand-written note saying : “Razak wants it in a hurry.”

This increase in invoices replaced the former dispensing of high commissions.

A confidential report in the Paris Papers notes:

“It appears that the management of Thint Asia is aware that the amount paid to Terasasi ultimately benefited Najib or his adviser, Baginda.”

Thus, as our French lawyer, Joseph Breham has put it: “Investigations so far have provided sufficient evidence to point our finger at Malaysian officials in this hearing.”

[First posted 3 June 2012]

A Love Song for Altantuya...

Well, folks, fasten your seat belts. Some massive turbulence ahead... when the case filed in Paris by SUARAM (Suara Rakyat Malaysia, a leading human rights organization) to investigate the astronomical kickbacks involved in Malaysia's purchase of French-made Scorpene submarines between 2002 and 2005, reaches full trial in the coming weeks.

It was an inspired move on the part of SUARAM, because no serious investigation would have been possible in Malaysia, where the defence minister involved in these shady deals has now been promoted to prime minister. Everybody knows all law enforcement agencies in Malaysia are under the direct control of the executive - specifically the prime minister's department and the home ministry. The present home minister happens to be Najib Razak's boorish cousin, Hishammuddin Hussein.

The shadow of unavoidable suspicion still dogs Najib Razak's every step. None of this would have become front-page news had it not been for the gruesome murder of 28-year-old Mongolian beauty, Altantuya Shaariibuu, on 20 October 2006 - who was shot twice in the head and her body blown to smithereens with military-grade C4 explosives in a forested area known as Puncak Alam, near Kuala Lumpur.

Two police officers attached to the Unit Tindakan Khas (Special Action Unit) who, at the time of the murder, had served as personal bodyguards to Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, were charged with the macabre murder of the Mongolian woman and found guilty in April 2009 after a ponderous and farcical trial during which both the defence and prosecution took extraordinary pains to keep Najib Razak and his security chief Musa Safri from testifying.

Najib's close friend Abdul Razak Baginda, a special advisor to the defence ministry, was deeply involved in the submarine purchase. He was arrested in connection with the Altantuya murder and admitted in an affidavit that she had been his mistress for a couple of years and that she had served as a translator during the negotiations in Paris. Trial judge Zaki Yasin acquitted Abdul Razak Baginda, who swiftly relocated to the U.K. with his family.

The faces of the two policemen sentenced to death have never been revealed to the public, as the judge allowed them to cover their heads throughout the prolonged trial. Najib Razak swore on the Koran in August 2008 that he had never met "that Mongolian woman." He did not mention her by name.

However, on 3 July 2008, private investigator Balasubramaniam Perumal had issued an explosive statutory declaration: he had been engaged by Abdul Razak Baginda to keep Altantuya from bothering his client. Bala indicated in his signed declaration that Baginda had briefed him thoroughly on the situation. The background to the messy affair was that Altantuya Shaariibuu had been Najib Razak's mistress until 2004 when he became deputy prime minister, in addition to being defence minister. Najib, wishing to avoid scandal in his new high profile position, had coaxed his buddy Baginda to "look after" Altantuya.

A day later Bala Perumal appeared sullen and ashen-faced at a hastily convened media conference in a hotel at which an unknown lawyer claiming to represent Bala announced that his client had recanted his first statutory declaration and issued a new one wherein all references to Najib Razak had been surgically excised. Immediately afterwards, Bala Perumal vanished from sight and did not reappear until November 2009 when he recorded an interview with three veteran lawyers narrating his harrowing adventures following his 3 July statutory declaration.

According to Bala, he had been escorted by business associates of Rosmah Mansor (Najib's wife) to meet Nazim Razak, younger brother of Najib, who instructed him to accept a "special arrangement" if he valued the lives of his wife and children. Under this arrangement Bala was to leave Malaysia with his family and keep a low profile until after Najib Razak had been appointed the sixth prime minister. He and his family would be comfortably supported with a payment of RM5 million.

Corruption, sex, blackmail, abduction, murder, cover-ups, criminal intimidation, judicial interference, dirty deals... welcome to Bolehsia! Will Najib Razak and his moribund political party, UMNO, survive whatever fresh evidence surfaces during the upcoming corruption trial in Paris?

Well, if they do... it would mean the end of all decency, justice, freedom, truth and wise governance in Malaysia. We shall all turn into moral zombies and our beloved land will be renamed Mordoria....

Folks, a hearty round of applause to Dr Kua Kia Soong and his dedicated staff at SUARAM. They will require an injection of money to pay their legal representatives in France. I've already donated to SUARA INISIATIF SDN BHD's Hong Leong Bank account # 03000065200. Please do your bit to restore justice, accountability and human decency to this country. Thank you.

ALTANTUYA RESURFACES TO HAUNT NAJIB

French Legal Team in Malaysia to Probe Sub Deal

Written by John Berthelsen | Asia Sentinel
Tuesday, 27 April 2010

Massive corruption suspected in billion-dollar deal tied to Prime Minister Najib

Joseph Breham, a member of a French legal team that filed complaints in a Paris court in connection with a potentially explosive scandal over the billion-dollar purchase of French submarines by Malaysia is due to land in Kuala Lumpur today (April 28) to seek further information on the case and to speak with their clients, the Malaysia human rights organization Suaram.

As Asia Sentinel has reported at length, the deal was engineered by then-Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak (right), now Malaysia's Prime Minister, in 2002 and resulted in a massive €114 million (US$151.1 million at current exchange rates) commission for one of Najib's closest associates, Abdul Razak Baginda. The purchase price included two Scorpene-class diesel submarines built by Armaris, a subsidiary of the French defense giant DCN (formerly Direction des Constructions Navales) and the lease of a third retired submarine manufactured by a joint venture between DCN and Spanish company Agosta.

Breham, one of the three lawyers who filed the case with Parisian prosecutors on behalf of Suaram, told Asia Sentinel the French court has opened a preliminary investigation into the matter and that he would be advising his clients on the next steps. Breham said he will also hold a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today to give some details to local reporters. Breham, Renaud Semerdjian and William Bourdon, the lead lawyer, filed the request to investigate bribery and kickback allegations against DCN first in December and filed additional documents in February.

The case has been making headlines in Malaysia - although few in the mainstream media, which are owned by the country's leading political parties -- since the gruesome October 2006 murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian translator and spurned lover of Razak Baginda who had accompanied him to France on some of the transactions over the submarines. Altantuya was shot in the head and her body was blown up with military explosives in a patch of jungle outside of Kuala Lumpur. Two of Najib's bodyguards, who were directed to intercede with her by Musa Safri, Najib's chief of staff, have been convicted of the killing. Neither Najib nor Musa has ever been questioned by law enforcement officials about the case.

Although records showed Najib was in France at the same time as Altantuya and Razak Baginda, he has repeatedly sworn to Allah that he had never known the beauteous Mongolian. One report filed by a private detective hired by Razak Baginda said she had been Najib's lover first. After she was killed, authorities discovered a letter she had written saying she was blackmailing Razak Altantuya for US$500,000, although she did not say why.

In addition to the cost of the submarines and the whopping "commission" fee, it has now emerged that under the terms of the original contract, the vessels were basically bare of armaments and detection devices. The Malaysian military must pay an additional €130 million to equip them.

"You mean we bought bare metal?" wrote one incredulous and anonymous military official in an email to Asia Sentinel.

The charges go well beyond the Malaysian purchase. Judges in the Paris Prosecution Office have been probing a wide range of corruption charges involving similar submarine sales and the possibility of bribery and kickbacks to top officials in France, Pakistan and other countries. The Malaysian piece of the puzzle was added in two filings, on Dec. 4, 2009 and Feb. 23 this year.

French politicians seem to have a knack for backhanders. On October 26, in a trial that centered on illegal arms sales to Angola, Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, the son of the late president Francois Mitterand, was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay a €375,000 fine for receiving embezzled funds. The court ruled that he had accepted millions of euros in "consultant fees" on the arms deals between 1993 and 1998. In the dock with him were 42 people accused of selling weapons to Angola in defiance of a UN arms embargo, or of taking payments from the arms dealers and using their influence to facilitate the sales.

The trial, it was said, shined a light into a murky world of secret payments made in cash and discreet deals linking Parisian high society with one of Africa's longest-running wars. But it hasn't shined a light on what happened elsewhere with contracts concluded by the representatives of France, and particularly by DCN.

For instance, 11 French engineers employed by DCN, which peddled subs to Pakistan, were blown up in a bus bombing in 2002 which was first thought to have been perpetrated by Islamic militants. The 11 were in Karachi to work on three Agosta 90 B submarines that the Pakistani military had bought in 1994, with payment to be spread over a decade. According to Reuters, commissions were promised to middlemen including Pakistani and Saudi Arabian nationals. Agosta is a subsidiary of DCN. It is believed that Pakistani military officials blew up the bus in retaliation for the cancellation of the payments.


In the Taiwan case, the French company Thales, formerly Thompson-CSF sold six DCN-built La Fayette-class 'stealth' frigates to Taiwan in 1992 for US$2.8 billion. At least six people connected with the case have died under suspicious circumstances including a Taiwanese naval captain named Yin Ching-feng, who was believed to have been killed because he planned to go to the authorities about fraud connected with the case. His nephew, who was also pursuing the case, a Thomson employee in Taiwan and a French intelligence agent were also among the dead. It gradually emerged that some $600 million in commissions had been paid into various Swiss accounts set up by Andrew Wang Chuan-pu, the Taiwan agent for Thomson-CSF. In October 2008 a French judge finally ruled that no one could be prosecuted because of lack of evidence.

The Malaysian allegations revolve around the €114 million payment to a Malaysia-based company called Perimekar for support services surrounding the sale of the submarines. Perimekar was wholly owned by another company, KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd, which in turn was controlled by Najib's best friend, Razak Baginda (left), whose wife Mazalinda, a lawyer and former magistrate, was the principal shareholder, according to the French lawyers.

In the complaints filed in Paris, the issue revolves around what, if anything, Razak Baginda's Perimekar company did to deserve €114 million. Zainal Abidin, the deputy defense minister at the time of the sale, told parliament that Perimekar had received the amount - 11 percent of the sale price of the submarines - for "coordination and support services." The Paris filing alleges that there were neither support nor services.

Perimekar was registered in 2001, a few months before the signing of the contracts for the sale, the Paris complaint states. The company, it said flatly, "did not have the financial resources to complete the contract." A review of the accounts in 2001 and 2002, the complaint said, "makes it an obvious fact that this corporation had absolutely no capacity, or legal means or financial ability and/or expertise to support such a contract."


"None of the directors and shareholders of Perimekar has the slightest experience in the construction, maintenance or submarine logistics," the complaint adds. "Under the terms of the contract, €114 million were related to the different stages of construction of the submarines." The apparent consideration, supposedly on the part of Perimekar, "would be per diem and Malaysian crews and accommodation costs during their training. There is therefore no link between billing steps and stages of completion of the consideration."