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By NICOLA CLARK
Published: May 15, 2007
Editors' Note Appended
Correction Appended
PARIS, May 14 - Law enforcement authorities in Switzerland confirmed Monday that they had opened a criminal investigation into possible money laundering at BAE Systems, adding to the international scrutiny of the company, the top British military contractor.
Jeanette Balmer, a spokeswoman for the office of the Swiss federal prosecutor in Bern, confirmed that an investigation had been opened after a report from Swiss money laundering investigators.
In December, the Serious Fraud Office in Britain closed its inquiry into reports that BAE had paid bribes to secure military contracts from Saudi Arabia. British officials said at the time that the investigation risked jeopardizing relations with the Saudis.
Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain supported that decision, which drew a public rebuke from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris as well as a diplomatic protest from Washington.
Swiss banks are required by law to report any suspicious financial transactions. According to The Guardian, a British daily, Swiss investigators will be able to examine accounts held by Wafic Said, a Syrian financier who may have acted as a middleman for payments and whom the Swiss consider a potential witness.
Ms. Balmer, of the prosecutor's office, declined to give any further details of the investigation, citing Swiss secrecy laws. Mr. Said could not be reached for comment.
[After the publication of this article, Mr. Said said that he was not a target of the money-laundering investigation.
["The Swiss authorities have formally and officially confirmed that their investigation into money laundering at BAE Systems does not involve me and they are not examining my Swiss bank accounts," he said in an e-mail message. "Nor am I considered as a witness in their investigation."
[Jeanette Balmer, a spokeswoman for the Swiss federal prosecutor's office, declined to comment.]
Published: May 15, 2007
Editors' Note Appended
Correction Appended
PARIS, May 14 - Law enforcement authorities in Switzerland confirmed Monday that they had opened a criminal investigation into possible money laundering at BAE Systems, adding to the international scrutiny of the company, the top British military contractor.
Jeanette Balmer, a spokeswoman for the office of the Swiss federal prosecutor in Bern, confirmed that an investigation had been opened after a report from Swiss money laundering investigators.
In December, the Serious Fraud Office in Britain closed its inquiry into reports that BAE had paid bribes to secure military contracts from Saudi Arabia. British officials said at the time that the investigation risked jeopardizing relations with the Saudis.
Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain supported that decision, which drew a public rebuke from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris as well as a diplomatic protest from Washington.
Swiss banks are required by law to report any suspicious financial transactions. According to The Guardian, a British daily, Swiss investigators will be able to examine accounts held by Wafic Said, a Syrian financier who may have acted as a middleman for payments and whom the Swiss consider a potential witness.
Ms. Balmer, of the prosecutor's office, declined to give any further details of the investigation, citing Swiss secrecy laws. Mr. Said could not be reached for comment.
[After the publication of this article, Mr. Said said that he was not a target of the money-laundering investigation.
["The Swiss authorities have formally and officially confirmed that their investigation into money laundering at BAE Systems does not involve me and they are not examining my Swiss bank accounts," he said in an e-mail message. "Nor am I considered as a witness in their investigation."
[Jeanette Balmer, a spokeswoman for the Swiss federal prosecutor's office, declined to comment.]
