Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ex-French President's son, others convicted over Angola arms deal

A PARIS court yesterday convicted the son of ex-French President Francois Mitterrand and an ex-government minister for their roles in illegal arms sales to Angola.

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According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, was given a two-year suspended sentence, and ex-Interior Minister Charles Pasqua was jailed for one year.

They were convicted of accepting bribes to facilitate arms deals to Angola over the period 1993-98, in breach of French law.

Two key figures were sentenced to six years each in their absence.

Prosecutors accused Israeli-Russian billionaire Arkady Gaydamak and French magnate Pierre Falcone of being the key figures in the arms trafficking worth $790 million.

Gaydamak and Falcone were accused of buying tanks, helicopters and artillery pieces and then selling them to Angola during its civil war, through a French-based firm and its subsidiary in Eastern Europe.

Mitterrand, an Africa adviser to his father in the Elysee Palace, was ordered to pay 375,000 euros and Pasqua was fined 100,000 euros, while two years of his prison sentence were suspended. No fewer than 42 people were on trial.

The scandal was dubbed "Angola-gate" by the French media as details of murky deals involving politicians, businessmen, public figures and weapons were revealed.