AL JAZEERA DOCUMENTARY ON ALTANTUYA MURDER
BEST FBKL: News of the re-opening of the Altantuya Murder Investigation has captivated the world again.
Is Razak Baginda whowas previously charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul in the murder but was acquitted on October 31, 2008, after the Shah Alam High Court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him. in a case civil society groups and corruption watchdogs have alleged was a government cover up involving kickbacks & all the persons named in Bala's SD 1 still in Kuala Lumpur for the police to re-investigate all the facts of the case.
There should be travel bans for all.
Altantuya Shaariibuu: A murder that still captivates the world, 12 years later
CHANNEL NEWS ASIA
By Amy Chew @AmyChewCNA24 Jun 2018 04:11PM (Updated: 24 Jun 2018 04:20PM)
KUALA LUMPUR: When two Malaysian elite policemen shot dead Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu and blew her body to bits with military grade explosives in a forest in Shah Alam in 2006, it also ripped apart the world of her father Setev Shaariibuu.
Shaariibuu, a professor of film study who traverses between the world of make-believe and reality in his profession, probably never imagined such a script could be written for his life.
His demeanour is full of sadness: During his visit to Malaysia last week to seek justice for Altantuya, he did not smile during the time when the media followed him around.
“My family and I have persevered, endured deep anguish and unending grief for the grotesque wanton murder of my eldest daughter for the last 12 years,” he told reporters.
Altantuya, 28, left behind two sons – one of them is disabled and bedridden while the other is currently a student. They are aged 14 and 20, respectively.
The older son is aware of what happened to his mother, said Shaariibuu.
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“Altantuya was the main bread winner for her family of seven including her two sons and one of them (is) a disabled bed-ridden son. With her death, I felt I lost my right hand man,” said Shaariibuu.
ALTANTUYA’S SON HAD TO WORK AT AGE 11 TO SUPPORT YOUNGER BROTHER
“My daughter’s eldest son started to work when he was 11 to carry goods in the market in order to earn money for medicine for his brother,” said Shaariibuu.
The devastation visited upon his family spawned more victims – his wife became psychologically disturbed and developed a heart condition.
“The mother of Altantuya became psychologically disturbed … there is one more person in the family that needed someone else’s care,” said Shaariibuu.
Shaariibuu will turn 70 this October, but his upended life has forced him to take on three different jobs to feed the family.
“Finding myself in such a difficult situation, I carried all the burden and at such an age, I had to work three different jobs,” said Shaariibuu.
“I don’t have much property. But because of such difficult issues, I had to sell my two-room apartment and spend (money) for the medical expenses of my youngest grandchild and for the living expenses,” said Shaariibuu.
His latest trip to Malaysia was funded by "good samaritans" from the Malaysian public who are not connected to any political parties, according to his lawyer Ramkarpal Singh.
ALTANTUYA – HOW SHE MET HER END
Altantuya was a stunning woman – tall, willowy with exquisite features. But her mesmerising beauty came to be a curse.
She grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russia and spoke fluent Russian, English, Chinese and Korean. She was both a model and a translator.
In 2004 while in Hong Kong, Altantuya met a married Malaysian political analyst named Abdul Razak Baginda and the two began an affair.
Razak was no ordinary political analyst. He was a friend and associate of Najib Razak, who was then Malaysia’s defence minister. The analyst acted as Najib's advisor from 2000 to 2008. Najib later rose to become the prime minister in 2009.
Sometime in 2006, the affair between Altantuya and Razak soured and he abruptly ended it.
Later that year, Altantuya came to Malaysia together with her sister and cousin to track down Razak, who had refused to see her.
She located his home and, from the gate of his house, cried out to him to come out.
On the night of Oct 19, 2006 at around 8pm, Altantuya once again appeared outside Razak’s home. On seeing her, two policemen from the Special Action Unit seized her and forced her into a car.
They drove her to a forested area in Shah Alam, Selangor.
In the dark, silent forest, the men threw her onto the ground and fired two shots into her head.
They then strapped military grade explosives onto her body and detonated them, blowing her body to bits.
In an interview with Al Jazeera in 2015, her father said he went to the crime scene and described it as looking like a war zone.
“I saw the actual crime scene. I had to go (there). It looked like there has been a war, a bomb site. Just imagine. That’s what I saw,” he said.
Razak was charged with abetting her murder but he was freed by the High Court in 2008.
The two cops, Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri, who were once Najib's bodyguards, were found guilty and sentenced to death in 2015.
There was speculation that Altantuya was killed because she tried to blackmail Razak as she came to know of alleged corruption in a US$1.1 billion French Scorpene-class submarine deal which he had brokered in 2002 for the Defence Ministry.
Altantuya was rumoured to have demanded US$500,000 from Razak.
French financial prosecutors are probing the sale of two Scorpene-class submarines built by France’s state-controlled warship builder DCN International (DCNI), and have placed Razak under formal investigation in connection with the deal.
PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT TRIED TO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH OF ALTANTUYA’S MURDER: FATHER
“For the past 12 years, I did not receive justice. The previous government did everything to prevent the truth from emerging,” said Shaariibuu on Tuesday (Jun 19).
Shaariibuu believes the new Pakatan Harapan administration “will do everything under its power” to render justice and bring an end to the grief and suffering of his family.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad received Shaariibuu at his office on Thursday and expressed support for investigation into Altantuya’s murder to be reopened.
This was followed by the Inspector-General of Police Fuzi Harun announcing the very next day that investigations would recommence.
MASTERMIND OF ALTANTUYA’S MURDER NEVER REVEALED
Up until today, no one knows who ordered Altantuya’s murder and what were the real reasons for killing her.
The two convicted police officers had never met Altantuya prior to her murder.
Shaariibuu lodged a police report last Thursday to jumpstart investigations into her murder.
In his police report, Shaariibuu said he believed Azilah and Sirul’s claim that they did not know Altantuya before they murdered her.
“… as such (they) could not have had any possible motive to kill her,“ said Shaariibuu in the police report.
Shaariibuu’s lawyer Ramkarpal told Channel NewsAsia they were “obviously ordered to kill her”.
“There is absolutely no reason for them to kill her. Obviously they were instructed to do so. Those who ordered her killed are just as culpable for murder and should be brought to justice,” said Ramkarpal.
“We hope a new investigation will reveal who was the mastermind of her murder,” Ramkarpal added.
A former aide-de-camp of Najib, Musa Safri, was named as a “crucial witness” to Altantuya’s murder in Shaariibuu’s police report.
"Musa Safri, he is ... a very crucial witness. He is important because according to the prosecution's criminal case, he played a very significant role," Ramkarpal told reporters.
“Why did the prosecution not call him in the past? It's a glaring omission on his (prosecutor's) part,” he added.
PUBLIC REMAINS TRANSFIXED BY ALTANTUYA’S MURDER
Though 12 years have passed, Altantuya’s murder continues to captivate the Malaysian public.
Eric Paulsen, executive director of human rights group Lawyers for Liberty, said reopening the case is important so that the many questions about what happened to Altantuya can finally be answered.
“This is a grisly murder. It looks like a Hollywood movie (but) the only thing is, it is true.”
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/altantuya-shaariibuu-mongolia-model-murder-still-captivates-10462268
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The Scorpene Scandal
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| It was discovered in 2008 that France state-owned shipbuilding company DCNS and Thales International Asia, from which the Malaysian government purchased two Scorpene submarines for RM5 billion in 2002, paid RM570 million in commissions and kickbacks to a company called Perimekar Sdn Bhd controlled by Abdul Razak Baginda, a close friend of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was defence minister at the time of the purchase. |
It was discovered in 2008 that France state-owned shipbuilding company DCNS and Thales International Asia, from which the Malaysian government purchased two Scorpene submarines for RM5 billion in 2002, paid RM570 million in commissions and kickbacks to a company called Perimekar Sdn Bhd controlled by Abdul Razak Baginda, then a close friend of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was defence minister at the time of the purchase.
The Malaysia Scorpene Submarine Affair
Introduction
The EUR 1.2 billion sale of French ‘Scorpène’ submarines to Malaysia in 2002, and the dubious commissions which accompanied the sale, might have gone unnoticed were it not for the kidnap and murder of a young translator in 2006. The victim, who had worked for a key agent on the deal, was targeted when she attempted to get her share of the commissions. The subsequent murder trial implicated members of the domestic police’s special intelligence branch, who may have served the defense minister and future prime minister Najib Razak as bodyguards.
With investigations in Malaysia stymied by the political implications, momentum shifted to France. DCNS, the French shipbuilding company, was raided in 2010, and it eventually became clear that the company was under scrutiny for operating a chain of intermediaries to bribe Razak and the agent, Abdul Razak Baginda, in violation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Convention on Bribery and its corresponding law in France.
Key Facts
Buyer country: Malaysia
Selling Countries and Firms:
- DCNS (France)
- Thales (France)
- Navantia (Spain)
Year of Procurement Decision: 2002
The Equipment Sold: 2 Scorpene submarines, 1 Agosta submarine, second-hand
Initial Price: EUR 1.2 billion
Sum involved in corruption allegations: EUR 146.5 million
Dramatis Personae
Najib Razak — Malaysia’s defence minister (1999-2008) when the deal was signed, later prime minister (2009-2018).
Abdul Razak Baginda — former director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Center; suspected Malaysian agent for DCNS and controller of companies used to funnel commissions.
Altantuya Shaaribuu — Mongolian translator, formerly in a relationship with Baginda; assisted with the deal and was murdered in 2006.
Azilah Hadridan and Sirul Azhar Omar — Malaysian police Special Action Unit officers, bodyguards to Najib Razak; convicted in 2008 of the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu. An appeals court overturned the verdict and freed them in 2014, whereupon Sirul Azhar Omar fled to Australia. The appeals court’s judgment was itself overturned in 2015 by the Federal Court, leading to reinstatement of the death penalty against both.
Bernard Baiocco — former president of the Asian division of Thales (which owned a 50% share of prime contractor Armaris and now an indirect share through a stake in DCNS); suspected by French magistrates of paying bribes in relation to the deal.
Dominique Castellan — former president of the international branch of DCNS; suspected by French magistrates of paying bribes in relation to the deal.
The Arms Deal
Beginning in the 1990s, Malaysia opened tenders for a number of major military acquisition programs, including tanks, jets, and naval systems. In 2002, Malaysia agreed to purchase for EUR 1 billion two Scorpène submarines from Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN, now renamed Naval Group) of France and Navantia of Spain. Armaris, a joint-venture between DCN and Thales, would be the prime contractor for this sale while Navantia would serve as a design and industrial contracting partner. In 2007, Thales swapped its direct investment in the Armaris joint venture for a stake in DCN itself; since 2011, the French shipbuilder has been 35% owned by Thales. One of the Malaysian Scorpène submarines was produced in France, the other in Spain. A second-hand Agosta submarine was also included in the deal.
Corruption Allegations
Corruption allegations center on the role of a key agent for the deal, businessman Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of Malaysia’s defence minister at the time, Najib Razak. Razak is now Malaysia’s prime minister. The biggest suspicious payment was of EUR 114 million to Perimekar, a Malaysian company of which Baginda’s wife was the primary shareholder. The payment was for “support and coordination services” in relation to the deal, but the company was only set up in 2001, a few months before the deal was signed, and had no relevant experience or expertise in managing this type of project. Further payments of EUR 30 million were subsequently made to Baginda. A further payment of EUR 2.5 million was subsequently made to an unnamed recipient. These commission payments were allegedly used to bribe Razak and other Malaysian officials.
Investigations and Outcomes
Allegations of corruption relating to the deal emerged following the 2006 murder of 28-year old Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaaribuu by two officers of the Malaysian Special Branch, Azilah Hadridan and Sirul Azhar Omar, also previously bodyguards to Najib Razak. Shaaribuu had been Baginda’s girlfriend, having met him in 2004, and had assisted in translating documents relating to details of the contract. A private detective hired to investigate her alleged that she had previously been the mistress of Najib Razak, but subsequently withdrew this claim.
When Shaaribuu heard that EUR 114 million had been paid to Perimekar, a company controlled by Baginda, she travelled to Kuala Lumpur to pressure Baginda into paying her USD 500,000 which she claimed was owed for her work in relation to the deal. She repeatedly appeared outside his house harassing him, possibly in an attempt to blackmail him.
A trial later found that on October 19, 2006, she was kidnapped and shot dead by the two Special Branch Officers, Azilah Hadridan and Sirul Azhar Omar, who subsequently destroyed her body with military-grade C-4 explosives that could only have been obtained with the defense ministry’s permission. The two executioners were caught because her taxi driver, annoyed at not being paid, had noted down the registration number of the kidnappers’ car.
The officers were convicted of her murder in 2008 and sentenced to death, a verdict was subsequently overturned on appeal in 2014, then reinstated by a higher court in early 2015. Azilah remains imprisoned in Malaysia, while Sirul Azhar fled to Australia, which will not hand him over without guarantees against eventual execution. Baginda was charged with abetting the murder, but acquitted.
The case, however, led to investigations into potential bribery in relation to the Scorpène deal. The French newspaper Libération published detailed allegations in 2009 of illegal commissions and of Baginda’s involvement in the murder. The article revealed details of documents that the Malaysian court had refused to admit as evidence, supporting some of the claims.
The Malaysian civil society group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) pursued investigations, and launched a complaint with the French courts in 2010 regarding bribery of Malaysian officials. A raid on DCNS’ offices in 2010 led to the seizure of numerous documents, 133 of which were subsequently obtained and uploaded to the internet by the Asian Sentinel newspaper in 2012. The documents supported claims of illegal payments, established a possible link between the murder of Shaaribuu and the commissions, and outlined the use of a network of intermediary companies (including Perimekar) to circumvent the OECD Convention on bribery, which France had signed in 2000. The documents also claimed that DCNS was aware that the final benefactor of the commissions was to be the Malaysian ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation.
In March 2012, French authorities appointed a pair of examining magistrates to investigate the case. In 2016, Razak and Baginda were named by the magistrates as likely bribe recipients and the focus of the investigation. Baginda was placed under formal investigation in August 2017. Former Thales International Asia head Bernard Baiocco and former president of DCNS International Dominique Castellan are also under formal investigation for paying out the bribes.
The Malaysian government denies that there was any corruption associated with the deal. Baginda admitsreceiving the EUR 30 million, but maintains they were for his lobbying services and that no monies were paid to government officials.
Sources
“Scorpène’s sting: Malaysia’s bribery and murder scandal,” Defence Industry Daily, March 20, 2013, http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/scorpenes-sting-liberation-publishes-expose-re-malaysias-bribery-murder-scandal-05347/.
John Berthelsen, “Deep and Dirty: Malaysia’s Submarine Scandal,” Malaysia Sentinel (online), June 25, 2012, http://www.asiasentinel.com/politics/deep-and-dirty-malaysias-submarine-scandal/.
Arnaud Dubus, “Un cadavre très dérangeant,” Liberation (online), Mar. 5, 2009, http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2009/03/05/un-cadavre-tres-derangeant_463577.
“SUARAM starts legal fund to probe submarine commissions in French courts,” SUARAM (website), May 30, 2011, http://www.suaram.net/?p=918.
“French courts opens inquiry into Scorpène submarine scandal,” SUARAM (website), Mar. 18, 2012, http://www.suaram.net/?p=2569.
Michael Stothard and Michael Peel, “France opens probe into ‘bribery’ of Malaysia’s Najib Razak,” Financial Times (online), Feb. 4, 2016, https://www.ft.com/content/fab19252-ca85-11e5-be0b-b7ece4e953a0.
Additional material
The Asian Sentinel documents are available at: https://www.scribd.com/collections/3678742/The-French-Malaysian-Submarine-Scandal-the-Documents
