Herman de Wulf/BRUSSELS
BELGIUM'S helicopter corruption scandal has claimed more victims. Three leading figures in the country's Socialist party have been arrested and NATO Secretary General Willy Claes and European Commissioner Karel van Miert have become involved in investigations into the 1988 deal between the Belgian Government and Italian helicopter maker Agusta to equip the army with A.109s
The arrests followed a search of the headquarters of the Belgian Socialist party in Brussels on 17 February. Three leading figures of the Flemish wing of the party have been arrested for allegedly illegally receiving BFr51 million ($1.6 million) in connection with the deal. The scandal has widened to become one of the most serious in European aviation history.
Arrested were Etienne Mange, Belgium's postmaster-general and treasurer of the Socialist party, Luc Wallyn, a European bureaucrat who was secretary-general of the Flemish Socialist party 1988 and Alphonse Puelinckx, a leading Brussels lawyer connected with the party. Also held was Georges Cywie, a businessman and former Agusta lobbyist in Belgium. Cywie had also been arrested in 1994 during an earlier stage of the investigation.
Three former Belgian socialist ministers were compelled to resign in 1994 over their alleged part in the affair after their parliamentary immunity had been lifted. Of the three, only transport minister Guy Coeme, who was the defence minister in 1988, faces trial charged with corruption.
The most important move so far, is the Belgian justice department's announcement, that it wants to interview Claes, who was minister for the economy, at the time of the deal and Van Miert, who was president of the Flemish socialist party, around the time of the signing of the helicopter deal.
Claes initially denied any knowledge of the affair. He later admitted that he had heard of the alleged Agusta bribe, but told the party official involved that he did not profit from an arms deal. The Belgian Supreme Court is preparing an official request to NATO to lift its secretary-general's diplomatic immunity to interrogate him.
In addition, procedures are also under way to lift the parliamentary immunity of Belgium's minister of foreign affairs, Frank Vandenboucke, and the Flemish socialist party president, Senator Louis Tobback.
Van Miert returned from holiday on the 18 February to say that he had nothing to do with the helicopter deal because he was no longer party president at the time. He publicly demanded that his home and EC office be searched - Belgian investigators complied, after it had been verified that this could be done without breaking his diplomatic immunity as an EC official.
Van Miert had taken up his responsibility with the EC at the time of the helicopter contract and had left the party presidency to Vandenboucke, who at first denied having heard of the alleged Agusta illegal payment. Party treasurer Mange insists that he informed top party officials.
The arrests result from investigations, following the 18 July 1991 murder, of former Belgian minister Andre Cools in Liege. The investigation led to the discovery of a corruption scandal and of illegal financial transactions by the local branch of the Walloon socialist party.
With the aid of the Italian justice department, Agusta chief executive Roberto D'Alessandro was interviewed and the helicopter company's offices searched. The search uncovered documents, apparently showing how much had been paid and to whom, to ensure the signing of a BFr8 billion ($255 million) contract, for the sale of 46 A.109 helicopters for the Belgian army.
The Italian documents stated, that a 0.25% commission had been legally paid, to businessman Georges Cywie, for his services as a lobbyist. The document also revealed the payment of a further 0.50% which has never been found. It is believed that the murder of Cools might be connected to this money.
According to Mauro Giallombardo, former secretary to Bettino Craxi, president of the Italian Partita Socialista Italiana (PSI), BFr15 million had been paid to Cools, but the money did not reach its destination. Giallombardo was in Brussels in the spring of 1989 and had contacts with Andre Spitaels (then president of the socialist party) and Claes (then minister of economics affairs).
The Agusta search revealed a document dated 10 November, 1988 - one month before the signing of the helicopter deal - stating that BFr51 million would be paid to a Swiss company known as Kamac if the deal with the Belgian Government progressed. Kamac's shareholders turned out to be Mohammed Bashi, a Syrian businessman, and Wallyn and Puelinckx.
The two men admitted receiving the money and said that the funds were intended for the financially hard-hit socialist party treasury. It has been established that the money was paid to Kamac.
Claes and Vandenboucke, while admitting they vaguely remember Mange had mentioned the deal, claim that he acted on his own initiative.
Source: Flight International