Najib Denies Involvement In French Submarine Deal Bribery Claims

---

(FMT) – This follows a Bloomberg report citing French financial prosecutors alleging that the former leader met defence executives in 2002 to arrange submarine contracts meant to benefit himself and others.
Former prime minister Najib Razak has denied any involvement in alleged corruption linked to a 2002 submarine deal following a Bloomberg report citing French prosecutors’ claims about bribes tied to the US$1.2 billion purchase.
Representing Najib, Messrs Shafee & Co dismissed suggestions that the former prime minister had benefitted from the deal or played any unlawful role in its negotiation.
The legal team said the Bloomberg report itself referenced a 2024 French court filing noting “no evidence that shows he received any of those payments”, allegedly meant to remunerate Malaysian officials involved in the defence procurement.
“French prosecutors have not recommended that our client stand trial, nor has any indictment been sought against him,” they said in a statement today.
“In these circumstances, the article raises no issue of liability for our client, and any insinuation to the contrary is without factual foundation.”
Bloomberg reported that French financial prosecutors alleged last year that Najib had attended meetings with defence company executives to arrange contracts ahead of the Scorpene submarine deal in 2002.
They claimed that the contracts were structured to benefit local decision-makers, including Najib’s then-adviser, Abdul Razak Baginda.
A classified document cited in the report asserted that the contracts were designed to remunerate Najib and others.
The allegation came to light as part of a summary by French financial prosecutors of a wider case involving French defence firm Thales SA and DCN International, an entity that’s now part of Paris-based Naval Group.
Najib’s legal team also dismissed the claim that French investigators were blocked by the former prime minister’s “influence”, noting that subsequent administrations since 2018 have had full access to defence ministry records, yet no documents implicating him have ever surfaced.
The lawyers also said that Najib’s participation in procurement talks was part of his official duties and that portraying it as misconduct “absent any proof of personal enrichment or unlawful directive” was a “mischievous insinuation designed to mislead public opinion”.
“For these reasons, we regard the Bloomberg story as a non-issue so far as Najib’s legal position is concerned,” they said.
Najib, 70, is currently serving a reduced prison sentence for charges related to the SRC International case.
He has filed for a judicial review in an attempt to enforce a supplementary decree issued by the former king, which would allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
However, all proceedings were stayed on April 28 pending the outcome of an appeal by the attorney-general (AG) to the Federal Court.
The Federal Court will now hear the AG’s appeal based on seven questions of law as to why Najib should not have been given leave for the judicial review.
Source : FreeMalaysiaToday
The post Najib denies involvement in French submarine deal bribery claims appeared first on Malaysia Today.

---