Baginda says was paid RM180m but no bribery
Published on: Saturday, February 06, 2016
PETALING JAYA: Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda said there was no element of bribery in the purchase of the Scorpene submarines in 2002.He told the UK based Financial Times that he was paid about €30mil (RM180 million) to consult on the French deal, lobby for it and oversee the eight years of its execution."It was a legitimate agreement. I did my job and I got paid for it.
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"And I never paid any official," said the Islamic Peace Foundation Director.In the article published on ft.com, Abdul Razak was also reported as saying that he had never been a paid adviser to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, who was Defence Minister at the time.He added that while he had written speeches for Najib and had accompanied him on foreign trips, he had talked only "rarely" to him about the submarine deal "over a cup of tea".This follows news that Paris prosecutors have launched a formal investigation into whether there was any element of graft involved in the US$1.2 billion (RM4.96 billion) Scopene deal.
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The report stated that a probe will be carried out to see whether former French Thales International Asia president Bernard Baiocco had allegedly paid kickbacks to win a 2002 contract for two submarines.Baiocco, Najib, and Abdul Razak, the suspected middleman, have denied any wrongdoing.
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It was reported that the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed that Baiocco had been placed under formal investigation on suspicion of "bribery of foreign public officials" and "complicity in misuse of corporate assets".The inquiry relates to the sale of the pair of submarines from a joint venture between Thales and fellow defence company DCN, now called DCNS.The report stated that both Thales and DCNS declined to comment on the French inquiry.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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