More for Degas to digest while he thinks up for a reply…
http://www.dawn.com/2003/02/27/top4.htm
Pakistan declared ‘damage party’ : SGS, Cotecna cases
The Swiss government has declared Pakistan a ‘damage party’ in the cases of SGS and Cotecna, two Swiss companies, and charged former premier Benazir Bhutto , her husband Asif Ali Zardari and their lawyer Jens Schlegelmilch with receiving commission amounting to US $13.53 million from both companies for awarding pre-shipment inspection (PSI) contracts. The Swiss government had also frozen the accounts of Ms Bhutto, Mr Zardari and their associates amounting to $60 million, said a document provided to reporters by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Lt-Gen Munir Hafiez at a press briefing on Wednesday. The official said that the accused used off-shore companies to receive commissions and kickbacks from the two Swiss companies. “After being declared a ‘damage party’ by the Swiss government, the government of Pakistan has been allowed to plead its case as a party in the Swiss court,” the official added. Under Swiss law, after being accepted as a ‘damage party’, the state has the right to access the file of the judgment and to obtain a copy of it, to be present at the hearings of indicated persons or witnesses, cross-examine, and to request that specific investigation be carried out.
The NAB official quoted the translation of the Swiss court judgment as saying: “In fact had Benazir Bhutto acted loyally, she or her relatives would not have benefited from said amount but Pakistan. As the mismanagement of public interest is a crime and as it is not relevant whether that crime was committed abroad, Ms Bhutto, Mr Zardari, and Mr Schlegelmilch can be reproached to have laundered the money of that crime proceeds in Switzerland. Pakistan was therefore the victim of passive corruption or mismanagement of its public interest. Consequently, Pakistan was also a victim of money laundering committed in Switzerland and was consequently directly damaged by the tort committed by the three.” The order of the judge was conveyed to Ms Bhutto, Mr Zardari, and Mr Schlegelmilch through their attorneys. Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari have not challenged the decision. However, Mr Schlegelmilch had filed an appeal before the Swiss Supreme Court on Feb 18, 2003, the NAB chief said. He said that the bureau would retry the case against Ms He termed the decision of the Swiss court a landmark in NAB’s endeavours to repatriate the assets collected by disloyal public officials and concealed in Swiss bank accounts. Replying to a question, the NAB chairman said that efforts were being made for the extradition of Ms Bhutto so that she could be presented before a court of law in Pakistan. The official said that the investigation evidenced that both Swiss firms - SGS and Cotecna - paid $13.535 million as commission to the two.
The break-up of amount was stated to be $8.19 million given to a firm Bomer Finance (an off-shore company owned by Mr Zardari) of which beneficiary owners were Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari; $3.80 million deposited in Nassam Overseas of which the beneficiary owner was Nasir Hussain (ex-brother in law of Ms Bhutto); and $1.53 million given to Mr Schlegelmilch. The NAB chief said that a minimum of 61 bank accounts of Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari and their close associates had been detected. The Swiss judge had seized a jewellery set, worth $192,200, allegedly purchased by Ms Bhutto. She herself paid down payment of $41,000 and the remaining payment was made from the bank account of Bomer Finance. The official said that Mrs Nusrat Bhutto was declared a beneficial owner of the off-shore company Mariston Securities. “The company’s account has been credited with commission paid by Cotecna on the basis of the 1990 pre-shipment inspection (PSI) contract,” he said. Mr Zardari, he said, had acquired and used Bomer Finance with UBS, to collect commission paid by the SGS and the Cotecna, pursuant to the 1994 PSI contracts.
The NAB chairman said that Amer Lodhi was the apparent beneficial owner of another off-shore company named Dargal, which was used for collecting and distributing kickbacks paid pursuant to the URSUS tractors import scheme. When heard by the Swiss judge, Mr Lodhi denied having any personal interest in the company or in its assets. The NAB chief said that Ms Bhutto had received in excess of $500,000, originating from kickbacks, through the accounts of Bomer Finance and of another off-shore company named Nassam Overseas. He said that Mr Zardari was declared beneficial owner of most of the off-shore companies, which were used for collecting kickbacks paid in connection with government contracts awarded while Ms Bhutto was in power. Lt-Gen Munir Hafiez said that one Jehangir Ebadi, brother-in-law of Jens Schlegelmilch, was an apparent beneficial owner of Hospitals of the Middle East, an off-shore company to which substantial kickbacks originating from the 1994 PSI contracts awarded to the Cotecna and the SGS were transferred through Bomer Finance’s account. “By virtue of the Swiss court’s decision, the state of Pakistan has been handed over on Feb 17, 2003, case files containing over 3,000 documents. These files are being scrutinized so as to decide whether the latest evidence so received needs to be made part of the existing/on-going cases of corruption or to form a basis of yet more charges of corruption against Ms Bhutto and her husband,” the NAB chief said.
