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Query Europeans and Turks, nuke agency told
BY LOURDES CHARLES
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia wants the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to investigate five Europeans and two Turks over their roles in the black marketeering of components for nuclear weapons.
The police, which made public its report yesterday on the investigation into allegations of a Malaysian company being involved in the manufacturing of such components, will submit its findings to the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) here which would then forward the report to the IAEA, a body under the United Nations
Inspector General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Omar said investigations revealed that the foreigners, from Germany, Turkey, Switzerland and Britain, were allegedly involved in the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
He said the link was established after questioning Sri Lankan businessman B.S.A Tahir, who allegedly worked with a top Pakistani nuclear expert in supplying centrifuge components to Libya's uranium enrichment programme
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was briefed last Nov 13 on the allegations, had ordered the police to investigate.
The investigations also showed that the Malaysian company, Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd, was unaware that the equipment it was tooling could be used for such a purpose.
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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/2/21/nation/7365568&sec=nation



Loose network of seven plotters
BY LOURDES CHARLES
KUALA LUMPUR: The loose black marketeering network that planned to supply Libya with components for nuclear weapons consisted of two Swiss, two Turks, two Germans and a Briton.
Police investigations made public yesterday revealed that the network had supplied or tried to buy various components for a nuclear centrifuge for Libya's uranium enrichment programme.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Omar said the detailed probe showed that Malaysian company, SCOMI Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd (SCOPE), was only one of many firms which were duped into making parts of the various components.
He pointed out that even after awarding a contract to SCOPE, Sri Lankan businessman B.S.A. Tahir engaged a Swiss consultant to oversee the tooling of the component at the firm's plant in Shah Alam.
Tahir: Middleman involved in the trafficking
The consultant, Urs Friedrich Tinner, not only chose the machinery required but also designed the tooling process of the components which could be used for a centrifuge unit.
Mohd Bakri said Tinner was always cautious when working at the plant and took away the drawings of the component design when the contract was completed.
Just before he left the country in October, the Swiss engineer also erased all technical information which were kept in the computer that was set aside for his use by SCOPE at the Shah Alam factory.
He even removed the hard disk of the computer so that there was no trace of the technical specifications of the work done.
Tinner told the staff this was to protect trade secrets.
Mohd Bakri said that as a consultant, Tinner was responsible for the purchasing and setting up of the machines and one of the machines purchased and installed by him was the same one recommended by Griffin - a Cincinnati Hawk 150 Machining Centre.
Mohd Bakri said that 39-year-old Tinner resigned from SCOPE at about the same time a ship named BBC China was searched in Port Taranto, Italy, where five Libya-bound containers were confiscated as they allegedly contained components for certain parts of a centrifuge unit.
"Tahir and Tinner did not declare the use of the components or the true nature of the business. Moreover the components which were confiscated cannot be used as one complete unit of a centrifuge," he said, adding that SCOPE was misled into manufacturing the components after being told that the components were for the petroleum and gas industry.
Tinner's father Friedrich was also named in the report as being responsible for preparing certain centrifuge components and sourced many of the materials which were made by several companies in Europe. He is also alleged to have arranged for the materials to go to Libya via Dubai.
Tinner: Designed the tooling process of components
Another man named in the report was Peter Griffin, a British national based in Dubai.
It is learnt that Special Branch officers investigating the case were handed a document by SCOMI in the form of a brief note allegedly signed by Griffin himself dated March 10, 2001 recommending the purchase of that machine.
He said Griffin was hired by Tahir to carry out a feasibility study including recommending, among others, the type of machinery needed for the tooling job.
"However, after presenting his findings including the type of machinery needed, Tahir decided not to hire Griffin as he was said to be unsuitable for the job.
"Instead Tahir had in April 2002 hired the younger Tinner as consultant," the IGP said.
Mohd Bakri said Tahir revealed under questioning that it was the top Pakistani nuclear expert who developed the network of middlemen that not only involved Tahir but also several people and companies from Europe.
However, the IGP said it was a loose network, without a rigid hierarchy, or a head..
According to Tahir, some of the middlemen appeared to have known the nuclear expert for a long while and some of them got to know him when he was in the Netherlands.
The two Turks named in the report were Gunas Jireh and Selim Alguadis.
Jireh is alleged to have supplied aluminium casting and a dynamo to Libya while Alguadis, an engineer, is supposed to have supplied electrical cabinets and a power supplier-voltage regulator to Libya.
Another middleman, Heinz Mebus, a German engineer, is alleged to have been involved in discussions between the nuclear arms expert and Iran to supply centrifuge designs. He has since died.
The seventh man in the network is Gotthard Lerch, another German citizen residing in Switzerland who is alleged to have produced vacuum technology equipment.
Mohd Bakri said police conducted an open and transparent investigation in line with the country's policy of recognising and adopting a multi-lateral approach in conjunction with the IAEA while rejecting a unilateral approach where investigations are monopolised by only certain countries.
He said police here were willing and ready to co-operate with the IAEA.
Mohd Bakri stressed that although the individuals above were alleged to have been involved, the governments of the countries concerned and some of the companies involved were unaware of the real use of the components.

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IGP: Agency can quiz Tahir
JOHOR BARU: Sri Lankan businessman B.S.A.Tahir is still in Malaysia and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is free to question him, Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Omar said yesterday.
He said that police were more than willing to assist IAEA with regard to Tahir, who allegedly worked with a top Pakistani nuclear expert in supplying centrifuge components for Libya's uranium enrichment programme.
Mohd Bakri confirmed that the Dubai-based businessman, whose whereabouts had been unknown, was not under arrest.
"We are more than willing to assist IAEA (on Tahir's activities) and they can interview him if they want to," Bakri told reporters after a rugby match between the Malaysian police and its Thai counterpart for the Rujirawongse Cup yesterday.
Mohd Bakri said that police had not imposed restrictions on Tahir's movements or barred the businessman from leaving the country.
"He has not been arrested, that much I can say. Neither is he prevented from leaving the country. Where is the law to restrict (his movement)? His passport has not been impounded," he added.
Police investigations into allegations that Malaysian company, Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd (Scope), was involved in manufacturing the component, revealed that the company was unaware the equipment it was tooling could be used for uranium enrichment.
The investigations, which were made public on Friday, showed that Scope was unaware the exported components were for a certain centrifuge unit in Libya and it had considered the deal as a business deal.
Mohd Bakri said it was up to Scope to take action against Tahir for "misleading" it in the business deal.
"As a result of police investigations, we are of the opinion that Tahir had misled the company.
"However, it is up to Scope and not us to take action from here on," he added.
To a question, Bakri said that Malaysian police were not obliged to inform the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on its findings.
"I don't see why we should inform the FBI. We are not obliged to them," he said.
In Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the police report on the alleged production of component parts for the "nuclear black market" in Malaysia had cleared the Government of any implications.
Najib, who is also Defence Minister, said the Government had all along asserted that it did not have the know-how or the intention to make nuclear weapons
"We hope we can put the matter to rest," he told reporters after opening a dialogue on trade, biotechnology and sustainable development at Legend Hotel here yesterday.
Yesterday, Malaysian Institute for Technology Research (Mint) and Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) said in a joint statement that they would write to IAEA on Malaysia's stand concerning the issue.
This follows a request by IAEA for specific information to help the agency in investigations in countries suspected to have violated the United Nations-backed Non-Proliferation Treaty, which controls the production, use, import and export of materials used in nuclear production.
Mint and AELB said that Malaysia would voluntarily submit a full report on the case to IAEA "in due course" and hoped IAEA would use the information to probe all individuals and companies involved in the alleged "nuclear black market", irrespective of which country the parties were operating in.
The statement reiterated that Malaysia was not under investigation by IAEA.
It also said that Malaysia had not signed an additional protocol to the Safeguard Agreement listing equipment and non-nuclear materials that must be reported to IAEA.
It said that even if Malaysia had signed the protocol, there was no legal requirement for Malaysia to report the alleged centrifuge components made by Scope to IAEA as they were found to be made of materials of quality and strength below that specified in the protocol.