French lawyer probing Altantuya-linked ‘kickbacks’ is in town
(Harakah Daily) – KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 20: French rights lawyer William Bourdon is in town, ready to push local political temperature even higher when he speaks at three events under rights group Suaram’s latest project ‘Ops Scorpene’.
Bourdon’s arrival is part of Suaram’s efforts to seek a closure to the murder case of Altantuya Shariibuu, the Mongolian who had an affair with Abdul Razak Baginda, a close aide of Najib Razak, who was found brutally murdered in November 2006.
The trial concluded two years ago with the conviction of two close security personnel whose faces were carefully concealed by the police from media glare up to the last day when they were handed out the death sentence. Questions however remain on the motive of her murder, as well as several claims and counter claims on Najib’s alleged personal involvement.
Central to these was the RM7.3 billion purchase of two French ‘Scorpene’ submarines. It was claimed that Altantuya’s murder had to do with unpaid kickbacks owed to her. This, according to a private detective hired by Razak Baginda, was a reason why Altantuya had been hounding Razak at his office in the days leading to her brutal murder.
Perimekar is said to be linked to Razak Baginda and his wife Mazlinda, who is one of its directors
The purchase contract was signed by the Malaysian government in 2002 with French DCNS and Spanish Navantia, through direct negotiation undertaken by Perimekar, a company linked to Razak Baginda, who left for Britain soon after he was acquitted of the murder charge. This and the fact that Perimekar was only set up in 2001 fanned speculation that it was the middleman to receive kickbacks from Malaysia and France.
On 23 December 2009, Suaram through its networks in France linked up with leading human rights lawyers there to file a complaint with the French judicial system, in the hope that a preliminary investigation could be launched on the submarines sale.
The action was to enable revelation of facts behind the murder of Altantuya, as well as her role in the purchase deal leading to her murder, the motive of which the lengthy murder trial had failed to establish.
