Publication: The Guardian Issued: Date: 2007-05-03 Reporter: David Leigh Reporter: Rob Evans

Meeting of Prosecutors Increases BAE Pressure

 

Publication 

The Guardian

Date

2007-05-03

Reporter

David Leigh, Rob Evans

 

• Teams from four countries in Europe discuss tactics
• Corruption investigations to be coordinated

Prosecutors from four European countries are to meet at The Hague next week to co-ordinate their corruption investigations into BAE, the Guardian has learned. Their meeting will increase the international pressure on the embattled arms company, which is already the subject of attention from the US department of justice and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) anti-bribery watchdog panel.

The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will be joined at the meeting in the Netherlands by prosecutors from the Czech Republic, Sweden and Austria *1. Swedish investigations were launched in March after allegations that BAE offered massive secret commissions to promote the Czech sale of the Gripen fighter, manufactured in Sweden by Saab and marketed by BAE in a joint venture.

Christer van der Kwast, the Swedish chief prosecutor, confirmed the plans yesterday. He said: "We have established collaboration with our colleagues. My investigation is going very well."

Austria is a new entrant into the worldwide corruption investigations into BAE, which also encompass Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Chile, Romania and Tanzania.

The Austrian inquiry is centred on recently published allegations that BAE secret commissions were promised to two agents there, Hans Malzacher, former head of the Steyr armoured car firm, and Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, an Austrian count. Both have declined to comment.

BAE was seeking to sell the Gripen fighter to Vienna, as well as to Prague. The Austrian sale went in the end to the rival Eurofighter, known as the Typhoon.

The meeting of prosecutors will take place under the aegis of an EU body called Eurojust, set up in 2003 to fight organised crime. Law enforcement sources said the prosecutors expected to share information and decide which countries were best placed to bring any charges.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, this week renewed his attack on the UK government for blocking the SFO's Saudi investigation. In an adjournment debate on Tuesday night, he accused BAE of passing secret funds through an undeclared British Virgin Islands company and asked: "Is that compatible with the Treasury's rules about money laundering?"

He also demanded that the UK express confidence in Mark Pieth, head of the OECD's anti-bribery watchdog, which is reviewing claims that Britain broke an international treaty by halting the Saudi investigation in order to protect its relations with the Saudi ruling family.

This followed disclosures by the Guardian that UK diplomats were seeking to undermine Prof Pieth for being too outspoken, and were planning to put up a rival UK candidate for his job.

With acknowledgements to David Leigh, Rob Evans and The Guardian.



*1       Where are the South African prosecutors?

All tied up for ever and a day with the relatively miniscule matter of Zuma and his R500 000 per year for two years from Thomson-CSF of France?