Le Monde, 19 November 2010
A witness heard by Judge Van Ruymbeke Thursday, November 18, confirmed that the payments of commissions (legal until 2000) to intermediaries for the sale of three Agosta submarines to Pakistan had been halted in 1995 by Jacques Chirac.
Families of victims suspect that stopping its payments, which could lead to rétrocommissions (see box) could be caused the death of 11 French employees by management of shipbuilding in Karachi.
The witness, Michel Mazen, at the time senior official in charge of negotiating arms deals, has confirmed what Charles Millon, then defense minister, had told the judge: Jacques Chirac was right to stop the payment of EUR 84 million of "commissions" paid to intermediaries in the sale.
" I am committed to stop payments to the intermediate network K, essentially Mr. Takieddine who was at the forefront (...) and destroy documents which could bind to the French state this network, "he said Renaud Van Ruymbeke as the record of the hearing, published by Mediapart.
" STOP THESE PAYMENTS, IT WAS TO RUN THE RISK "
Mazen said he was working directly with Dominique de Villepin, secretary general of the Elysee, and with the head of state, Jacques Chirac. It also tells that both intermediaries for the sale of submarines Ziad Takkedine (submitted by Mediapart as close to Nicolas Sarkozy, which he denies) and Abdul Raman al-Asir, have also been deprived of another committee in the context of a sale of frigates to Saudi Arabia (the contract Sawari II). This time had reached $ 200 million.
According to this testimony, when Mr. Mazen has announced the end of commissions to Dominique Castellan, head of the commercial arm of the Directorate of Naval Construction, the latter explained that he would stop such payments " was run for risks to their personal .
is the first time a witness made the link between the commission and stop the bombing in 2002. His testimony also means that the state was undoubtedly aware that stopping payment of these commissions could be affect the safety of personnel of the DCN.
importantly, it involves two new politicians: Dominique de Villepin and Jacques Chirac.
counsel families of victims, Mr. Olivier Morice, which seeks to expand the procedures to hopefully break the wall of secrecy defense, which was opposed to all investigations into this business, has announced that its customers would complain against the two men for "deliberately endangering the lives of others and manslaughter. Samuel Lawrence
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