42 face Angola arms sales trial

PARIS – French prosecutors have requested that 42 people, including the son of late French President Francois Mitterrand, stand trial for suspected roles in illegal arms sales to Angola during the African nation’s civil war, judicial officials said on Wednesday.

A magistrate will decide whether to proceed with a trial. The group targeted by prosecutors includes Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, who served as counsellor on African affairs from 1986-92 under his father, and former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, the officials said on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.Preliminary charges of influence trafficking and misappropriating company assets have been filed against both men.Mitterrand is also being investigated for suspected complicity in illicit arms trafficking.The focus of the investigation is on two other men still being sought, French businessman Pierre Falcone and Arkady Gaydamak, one of Israel’s most prominent and controversial businessmen.Prosecutors suspect them of selling heavy weaponry to Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos during Angola’s 27-year civil war.Prosecutors allege that the arms sales, carried out from 1993 to 2000 without clearance from the French government, totalled nearly US$791 million.International arrest warrants have been issued for both Falcone and Gaydamak, who are being investigated in the case for illegal arms trafficking and misappropriating funds.Mitterrand is accused of receiving nearly US$2,6 million between 1996 to 2000 from Falcone’s company, Brenco, through offshore accounts.Pasqua is accused of misappropriating company assets over the transfer of some US$300 000 from Brenco to a French-African association for which he was once a vice president.The allegations of influence trafficking against Pasqua centre on an award given to Gaydamak by President Jacques Chirac in 1996 for his alleged role in helping free two French pilots held by Bosnian Serbs in Bosnia’s war from 1992-1995.Angola’s civil war ended in 2002.It sent almost half a million people fleeing across its borders and displaced close to four million internally.Nampa-APThe group targeted by prosecutors includes Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, who served as counsellor on African affairs from 1986-92 under his father, and former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, the officials said on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.Preliminary charges of influence trafficking and misappropriating company assets have been filed against both men.Mitterrand is also being investigated for suspected complicity in illicit arms trafficking.The focus of the investigation is on two other men still being sought, French businessman Pierre Falcone and Arkady Gaydamak, one of Israel’s most prominent and controversial businessmen.Prosecutors suspect them of selling heavy weaponry to Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos during Angola’s 27-year civil war.Prosecutors allege that the arms sales, carried out from 1993 to 2000 without clearance from the French government, totalled nearly US$791 million.International arrest warrants have been issued for both Falcone and Gaydamak, who are being investigated in the case for illegal arms trafficking and misappropriating funds.Mitterrand is accused of receiving nearly US$2,6 million between 1996 to 2000 from Falcone’s company, Brenco, through offshore accounts.Pasqua is accused of misappropriating company assets over the transfer of some US$300 000 from Brenco to a French-African association for which he was once a vice president.The allegations of influence trafficking against Pasqua centre on an award given to Gaydamak by President Jacques Chirac in 1996 for his alleged role in helping free two French pilots held by Bosnian Serbs in Bosnia’s war from 1992-1995.Angola’s civil war ended in 2002.It sent almost half a million people fleeing across its borders and displaced close to four million internally.Nampa-AP