Friday, April 16, 2010

CORRUPTION in DEFENSE Contracts - Nothing has Changed

It seems that Malaysia's submarine deals are being probed by the French authorities according to malaysiakini.
The wheels of justice move slowly but let's hope the French justice system is more thorough than the Malaysian system that convicted two men who did not seem to have any motive to blow up the Mongolian woman who was involved in the deal.
Of course the defense industry of France and probably most arms deals are racked by corruption scandals but at least the French have had some success in convicting the guilty parties.
The last major scandal that was brought before the courts was the infamous Dassaut case that also had an assassination of a person who had knowledge of the deal just like Altantuuya. That happened in 1988 and made major headlines. You can read the story here.
The main reason why defense contracts are prone to corruption is that it is not purely a government to government transaction like in the old days. Nowadays there are middle men and service contracts that can conceal "bribes" under secrecy agreements.
This will be a good test for the French justice system and definitely not good publicity for the Malaysian government.

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