Dominique Castellan, the former CEO of mega shipbuilder DCN International (DCNI), had been served with a notification of indictment, issued on March 1 this year, according to the joint statement by Suaram Executive Director Sevan Doraisamy and C4 Executive Director Cynthia Gabriel.
“The indictment of Castellan was linked to Contract C5 between DCNI and Thint Asia in the year 2000, and the consultancy contract between Thint Asia and Terasasi Sdn Bhd, concerning the amounts of €30 million transferred to Terasasi Hong Kong in November 2002,” the statement said.
Abdul Razak Baginda has been identified as the beneficial owner of Terasasi Hong Kong, having joint shareholding in the company with his father.
Razak was instrumental in getting the Scorpene deal negotiated for the Malaysian government, being the adviser to then Defence Minister Najib Razak.
It was previously reported that Razak admitted to receiving the €30 million but had insisted it was legitimate payment for consultancy work.
Castellan’s indictment, now sheds new suspicion on this contract, especially following the same action taken on Dec 15 last year, against Bernar Baiocco, the former president of Thint Asia.
Baiocco was the principal player in the allegations of bribes being paid to Razak, a foreign public official, for the purpose of securing a contract.
According to the indictments sighted by Suaram, Baiocco was indicted for transnational active corruption and aiding in misappropriation of company assets.
“These latest developments have confirmed long held fears that massive grand corruption has taken place.
“While the French probe continues with due diligence, and we remain hopeful that the Malaysians involved will also be brought to book, we urge the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to reopen its case files on the submarine purchase.
“We also call for Attorney-General Mohd Apandi Ali not to block anymore the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) needed to complete the transnational probe and punish those involved in dragging down the good name of the two countries,” Suaram and C4 said.
Suaram’s complaint to the French in November 2009 had started a preliminary inquiry and a judicial investigation opened in Paris in 2012.
Searches by the French police at Thales and DCNS offices had led to the seizure of numerous documents. It was only after six long years of investigations, that the first indictment happened last December.