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Dr M: Razak Baginda should face justice in France
Published:  Feb 5, 2016 11:58 AM
Updated: 9:03 AM

Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda should face justice in France for his role in the Scorpene submarines purchase deal as it will not happen in Malaysia, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

"If Razak or his company received money from the builders of the submarines, he should be hauled up before the French court," Mahathir said in a blog posting today.

He said this in reference to the indictment of the former president of Thales International Asia, Bernard Baiocco, last December for "active bribery of foreign public officials linked to Najib".

Razak, a close associate of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, admitted to receiving around 30 million euro (RM137 million) from Thales for lobbying work but denied having used the money to bribe Malaysian officials.

The brokering of the deal for Malaysia to purchase two Scorpene class submarines began in 2002, when Najib was defence minister.

"Razak had no authority to decide on government purchases. But Najib, as defence minister, had," Mahathir ( photo ) said.

However, he claimed attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali would not pursue the matter as it might drag Najib into the case.

"The Malaysian attorney-general would certainly not charge Razak because it might lead to Najib’s name being brought in," he said.

Biaocco has admitted to making payments for lobbying work, but he also denied that the money ever made it to Malaysian government officials.

Najib, through a government spokesperson, has also denied wrongdoing, describing it as "baseless smears for political gain".

At present, the French prosecution is only pursuing Biaocco, even though both Razak and Najib are named in the judicial documents.

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