News analysis: Siemens bribery: The whole story
Hasanuzzaman Khan
A source close to the US embassy in Dhaka said they have ascertained only 3 million dollar deposited in a Singapore Bank in the account of Arafat Rahman Koko which was described as Siemens' kickback.
When asked about the 200 million dollar in kickback reportedly deposited in Koko's name in a Singapore bank, the embassy source said, it may be the perception of the Bangladesh Government and its Law Minister Shafique Ahmed.. They have no knowledge about it. They denied handing over to the government any list of persons indulging in siphoning of state money to foreign countries.
The area of investigation of the US Justice department and FBI agents are restricted to a particular side involving Siemens transaction to Koko paid in kickback for obtaining work of Teletalk, a state owned telecommunication company of Bangladesh. The 3 million dollar forfeited in Singapore also includes an amount siphoned from a middle eastern country, a mobile phone company having origin from there are also working in Bangladesh.
Earlier Law Minister Shafiq Ahmed in a press briefing said, they have obtained a list of 12 politico-businessmen from the US investigators, who had 200 million dollar illegal transaction with siemens. A number of cabinet ministers of the 4-party alliance government was involved. But he refrained from naming the persons involved except Arafat Rahman Koko, the second son of former prime minister and BNP chief Khaleda Zia.
The US embassy sources said the Bangladesh government has presented the news from their own angle. The US investigators are not supposed to go beyond the terms of reference. Their area of investigation is limited, the embassy sources said. It is a very sensitive issue and no one should blow it beyond the proportion.
Former Attorney General Salahuddin Ahmed said he disclosed the involvement of 4-party alliance in the scandal after being influenced by the Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed. The handling of the matter by the top functionaries of the government has raised questions in different quarters.
A delegation comprising the US Justice department's deputy chief Linda M Samuel, FBI agent Deborah Heprevotte met the Law Minister Barrister Shafique and the then Attorney General Salahuddin to discuss the money laundering issue.
The BNP continues to deny the charges, calling them politically motivated.
In a renewed denial, even as the American and British Officials arrived here for consultation, BNP leaders said, Koko was not involved in the deal. US Justice department has filed a forfeiture action against the said 3 million dollar, that are alleged to be the proceeds of a wide-ranging conspiracy to bribe public officials in Bangladesh. Acting Assistant Attorney General Mathew Friedrich of USA announced it.
The forfeiture action was filed on January 8,2009 in the US District of Columbia against fund located in Singapore held by multiple account holders.
Koko, Giasuddin Mamun, former Finance Minister Saifur Rahman's son Babu are among the accused in the case filed in the US district court. The case was filed by Linda Samuel of the US Justice department.
According to Transparency International Afghanistan, Haiti and Myanmar are the countries where corporate bribery is most common. In Bangladesh the Siemens bribery dates back 2001 when the BNP government was not in power. Corporate bribery has become a global phenomenon now a days.
What is striking about prosecutors' accounts of those dealings of Siemens, which flowed through a web of secret bank accounts and shadowy consultants, is how entrenched corruption had embraced a sophisticated company that externally preached the principles of a transparent global marketplace built on legitimate transactions.
The prosecutors said that from 2002 to 2006, they oversaw an annual bribery budget of about $50 million at Siemens. Company managers and sales staff members used the slash fund to cozy up to corrupt government officials worldwide.
The payments, he said, were vital to maintaining the competitiveness of Siemens outside of Germany, particularly in his subsidiary, which sold telecommunications equipment.
Siekaczek's telecommunications unit spent $5 million in bribes to win a cellphone contract in Bangladesh, paying the son of the then-prime minister and other senior officials, according to court documents. Siekaczek's group also paid $12.7 million to senior officials in Nigeria for government contracts.
"Crimes of official corruption threaten the integrity of the global marketplace and undermine the rule of law in the host countries," said Lori Weinstein, the US Justice Department prosecutor who oversaw the Siemens case.
All told, Siemens will pay more than $2.6 billion: $1.6 billion in fines and fees in Germany and the United States and more than $1 billion for internal investigations and reforms.
The Siemens general counsel, Peter Solmssen, during an interview in Washington, said the company acknowledged that bribes were at the heart of the case. "This is the end of a difficult chapter in the company's history," he said. "We're glad to get it behind us."
The US Justice Department says. Siemens Bangladesh has admitted to funneling corrupt payments through business consultants to government officials in the country. In all, the Siemens subsidiary paid $5.3 million in illegal payments between 2001 and 2006.
Seeking the bribe money is a follow-up to admissions that Siemens made bribes to win contracts in three continents and was fined a total of $1.6 billion.
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