Saturday, September 29th., 2018New WikiLeaks Release Exposes Corruption In UAE Arms Deal Fueling War On Yemen
Saturday, September 29th., 2018
One wonders why all this belligerent malice must prevail, while very easily You can keep Your populations employed, fed, healthy and happy, just by using some of the still hidden ( but not for long) new technologies! Do you draw pleasure out of other peoples' misery and horrible death?Do You enjoy other peoples' pain? If You so Do, You must stop asap! Because We DO NOT!
Maria K. Pelekanaki
"...the tribunal found that Al-Yousef had convinced German officials to waive Germany’s then-ban on providing German-made weapons to Middle Eastern nations like the UAE — a necessary step, as the Leclerc tanks were fitted with German engines..."
"...Indeed, a recent report published by French law firm Ancile Avocat asserted that France’s continued sale of weapons to the two Gulf countries responsible for the carnage and chaos in Yemen was a violation of France’s status as a signatory of the International Arms Trade Treaty, ratified in 2014..."
New WikiLeaks Release Exposes Corruption In UAE Arms Deal Fueling War On Yemen
The transparency organization WikiLeaks just released a new document that
sheds light on the corruption behind a lucrative French-German arms
deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), weapons that are currently
being used to wage a disastrous and genocidal war against the people of Yemen.
The document details a court case from the International Chamber of
Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration regarding a dispute
over a “commission payment” made to Abbas Ibrahim Yousef Al-Yousef, an
Emirati businessman, as part of a $3.6 billion arms deal between
France’s state-owned weapons company Nexter Systems (then GIAT
Industries SA) and the UAE. Per the deal, which was signed in
1993 and set to conclude in 2008, the UAE purchased 388 Leclerc combat
tanks, 46 armored vehicles, 2 training tanks, and spare parts, as well
as ammunition. Those weapons have been an important part of the UAE and Saudi coalition’s war in Yemen since it began in 2015. The war has killed over
ten thousand civilians, largely the result of the Saudi/UAE bombing
campaign, which has targeted and crippled the country’s civilian
infrastructure. The result of those bombings, as well as of the
UAE/Saudi blockade of Yemen, has been over 17 million people near starvation – including 5.2 million children – and preventable disease epidemics that have claimed tens of thousands of additional lives. France’s President Emmanuel Macron, right, welcomes
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed
Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, left, prior to a meeting,
at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, June 21, 2017. Thibault Camus/APThe
court case described in the leaked document resulted from a claim made
by Al-Yousef that Nexter Systems had failed to honor its commitment to
pay him a 6.5 percent commission fee on the arms deal, amounting to a
$235 million dollars. Nexter Systems made payments regularly for a
period of time to the Emirati businessman, totalling over $195 million,
through Al-Yousef’s company, Kenoza Consulting & Management Inc.
Al-Yousef demanded that the company pay him the nearly $40 million that
remained outstanding.
However, subsequent arguments from Nexter Systems’ lawyers asserted
that payments stopped because of French anti-corruption legislation
enacted in 2000, and that Al-Yousef’s business “intended to commit and indeed committed corruption acts.” Nexter Systems effectively claimed in court that the exorbitant “commission fee” given to Al-Yousef was for
the use of bribing government officials of the UAE and apparently other
countries so that Nexter Systems could secure the $3.6 billion weapons
contract. However, the ICC tribunal did not rule on this point,
as they claimed that Nexter’s proof for this allegation lacked
sufficient evidence.
Yet, the tribunal did seek to determine why Al-Yousef had been able
to justify the excessive commission fee, especially considering that he
did not play an important role in the development of the Leclerc tanks.
In investigating this point, the tribunal found that Al-Yousef had convinced German officials to waive Germany’s then-ban on providing German-made weapons to Middle Eastern nations like the UAE — a necessary step, as the Leclerc tanks were fitted with German engines.
According to Al-Yousef’s witness statements, the way in which
he obtained this waiver “involved decision-makers at the highest
levels, both in France and Germany,” though Al-Yousef failed to remember
the names of the German officials and claimed to have not met them
directly.
The tribunal ultimately determined that there was no good reason for
Al-Yousef’s exorbitant commission fee. Yet, the arguments from Nexter
Systems as well as the statements from Al-Yousef himself regarding his
“lobbying” of anonymous German officials, suggest that the approximate
payment of $190 million was indeed used to commit “corruption acts.” That was then, that is also now
Though the corruption detailed in the newly leaked document took place decades ago, it
highlights how lucrative arms deals are often enough incentive for
governments and private companies to bend the rules in order to ensure
that weapons and payments for weapons continue to flow unimpeded.
France today – despite the gravity of the Yemen conflict and the
clear involvement of the UAE and Saudi Arabia in committing war crimes –
continues to supply the UAE/Saudi coalition with weapons, even though doing so violates its own laws. Indeed, a recent report published by French law firm Ancile Avocat asserted that France’s continued sale of weapons to the two Gulf countries responsible for the carnage and chaos in Yemen was a violation of France’s status as a signatory of the International Arms Trade Treaty, ratified in 2014.
Since the conflict in Yemen began, France’s government has argued that
the UAE and the Saudis are using those weapons for “defensive
purposes,” despite clear evidence to the contrary, suggesting that the
French government is willing to turn a blind eye to the atrocities in
Yemen in order to keep the weapons — and cash – flowing.
