Bala now giving his statement to SUARAM's French lawyers

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

After a marathon session with the French police that lasted hours, Malaysian private investigator P Balasubramaniam is now debriefing Parisians lawyers working on the corruption complaint lodged by civil rights group SUARAM.

“It is now our lawyers’ turn to question Bala. He will give his inputs and perspectives, and hopefully, they will be able to fit the missing pieces of the puzzle after taking his statement,” SUARAM director Cynthia Gabriel told Malaysia Chronicle.

According to Cynthia, the meeting between Bala and SUARAM lawyers was still on-going at press time. On Monday, accompanied by his lawyer Manjit Singh Dhillon, Bala had met an investigating team at the Direction Centrale de la Police in Nanterre Prefecture.

The private eye is the first Malaysian witness to be called by the French police. They began recording his statement from 2pm Paris time (8pm Malaysian time) and by 6pm (or 12 midnight Malaysian time), he was still inside the Direction Centrale giving his statement.

“It looks like we have to wait a little longer. The French seem to be very meticulous and Manjit and Bala would only be able to share with us what happened after they have finished with the SUARAM lawyers,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Tremendous pressure on the French side

Indeed, there is great interest in what the French police had asked of Bala, as that would indicate the direction and progress of investigations.

Not only are Malaysians following case that involves their Prime Minister Najib Razak, his wife Rosmah Mansor, their friend Razak Baginda and a Mongolian translator murdered in Malaysia in 2006, the French public and media are also very keen on the news.

“For us, we are very curious firstly because of Altantuya, Najib and Rosmah and then the huge kickback that has been alleged from the purchase of the submarines. For the French, they are interested firstly because of the corruption that may involve DCNS and their own politicians,” PAS MP for Parit Buntar Mujahid Yusof Rawa told Malaysia Chronicle.

“Of course, they are also interested by Altantuya and how she was killed. But this case won’t fade away, not like the Lingam Tape in Malaysia. There is a very strong anti-graft lobby in Paris that is demanding for a total a clean-up in the way French defense giants like DCNS conduct business. They are not going to let go of this case. So this also means, there is no escape for the Malaysian side either.”

Involvement of Malaysian personalities to be divulged

The French investigation gained strength after a complaint was lodged by SUARAM earlier this year. The NGO has said it had no choice but to take the case on behalf of Malaysian taxpayers to France because of Najib's refusal to initiate any inquiry on allegations that DCNS had paid Baginda a kickback of 114 million euros or RM570 million for closing a submarines deal.

Najib, as the defense minister, had in 2002 ordered two Scorpene submarines from DCNS worth 1.34 billion euros or RM6.7 billion. As part of this package, Baginda's firm was given the RM570 million contract to provide co-ordination and support services.

It is believed that the purchase agreement inked between Malaysia’s defense ministry and DCNS contained an anti-corruption clause, making it illegal to pay any commission or form of kickback to secure the deal.

Bala, a former Special Branch detective, was hired by Baginda in 2006 to stop Altantuya from blackmailing him for her US$500,000 share of the commission.

If there is sufficient evidence, France may prosecute the wrongdoers although it may not have jurisdiction on the Malaysian personalities involved. Nevertheless, SUARAM has urged French prosecutors to make public all their findings so that Malaysian authorities can also take action at home.

The Malaysian government or navy may also sue DCNS for recovery of the commission if the French probe finds that the firm did violate the anti-corruption clause. Whether the Najib administration will allow this to happen is already a 'hot' debate amongst the people, but it is unlikely that Malaysian taxpayers would let him sweep the matter under the carpet any more.

In a statutory declaration made in 2008, Bala listed down explosive information given to him by Razak during the course of his work. It is believed that this information will form the heart of his testimony to the French team.