THE DEADLY GAME OF SUBMARINES: Scorpene lawyer found DEAD

A star lawyer appointed by French arms maker DCNS to act on its behalf over the Malaysian Scorpene corruption inquiry has been found dead near his private island in Brittany.

The body of Olivier Metzner, a top French lawyer whose clients ranged from Panama's ex-dictator Manuel Noriega to former prime minister Dominique de Villepin, was found floating in the sea in Brittany, north-west of France. The police found a suicide note.

But Noriega, whom Metzner had defended in 2010, said in a note sent by his eldest daughter that he was "surprised" and "deeply hurt" to learn of the death. The former Panama leader also staunchly rejected suggestions of suicide, saying the act was "incompatible with (Metzner's) personality".

Incompatible with his personality

Whatever the cause of death, Metzner's demise is the latest in a string of suspicious deaths that have dogged DCNS and the high-powered clients it serves in the shady and ultra-sensitive world of international arms trade.

In Malaysia in 2006, a 28-year-old Mongolian woman by the name of Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered by two former bodyguards of Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor.

Najib and wife have denied any involvement but till now are unable to shake off the suspicion that they had something to do with those who had ordered Altantuya's brutal killing.

The beautiful Altantuya had acted as a translator for Najib's close aide Razak Baginda, who had helped negotiate Malaysia's RM7.3bil acquisition of 2 Scorpene subs. She is believed to have been killed because of her knowledge of the transaction and her threat to blow the whistle on those who have been accused of creaming a 114 million euros kickback from DCNS in return for sanctioning the deal.

The Malaysian government's refusal to order an inquiry into the alleged Scorpenes corruption had forced local NGO Suaram into lodging a complaint in the French courts in 2010. Acting for Suaram are Joseph Breham and William Bourdon, while Metzner represented DCNS.

Death confirmed

Metzner was once named France's most powerful lawyer by GQ Magazine and "greatest case lawyers" of the French bar, by head of Paris Bar Christiane Feral-Schuhl.

Sources told AFP that the body of Olivier Metzner was found floating early Sunday in the Gulf of Morbihan, a natural harbour on France's western coast. A suicide letter was left at his house on the nearby Boedic island, they said.

The gendarmerie confirmed the death but declined to provide any details.

Coming from a modest background, Metzner, 63, quickly scaled the career ladder and came to represent some of the most famous names in France.

His celebrity clients included rogue trader Jerome Kerviel, who caused his employer Societe Generale billions of euros in losses, and Noir Desir singer Bertrand Cantat, who was convicted of killing his actress girlfriend Marie Trintignant in Vilnius in 2003.

Metzner also represented de Villepin, succeeding in getting his client acquitted of allegations of plotting to smear political rival Nicolas Sarkozy.

Legal world in shock

Metzner's sudden death also shocked the legal world.

"I had strong intellectual admiration for him, but that didn't stop me from thinking - wrongly it seems - that he could perhaps lack some heart and sensitivity," his colleague Georges Kiejman said.

In 2010, Metzner bought Boedic island, describing it as "a magnificent and remarkable place."

Malaysia Chronicle