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Malaysia: "We Ainât Arresting Tahir"
Mostly "Weâre innocent, blah, blah. Edited for Tahir info:Malaysiaâs leader on Thursday questioned U.S. intelligence on this countryâs role in a global nuclear trafficking network, and said the man President Bush called its "chief financial officer and money launderer" would not be arrested, for now. Or later, he knows too much. "He is on his feet and free to move around," Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said of B.S.A. Tahir, allegedly a middleman who helped Pakistanâs top nuclear scientist sell equipment and know-how to Iran, Libya and North Korea. He wonât dare leave Malaysia for fear of being grabbed. "There is no such thing as Malaysiaâs involvement," Abdullah told reporters Thursday, when asked to respond to the remarks Bush made in a speech. "We are not involved in any way. I donât know where Bush is getting his evidence from." "Lies, all lies!" Tahir, a Sri Lankan based in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, operated a computer company to order centrifuge components from a Malaysian factory - using designs from Pakistan - Bush said. Other parts came from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, he said. "Tahir acted as both the networkâs chief financial officer and money launderer," Bush said. "He was also its shipping agent, using his computer firm as cover for the movement of centrifuge parts to various clients." The Malaysian company, Scomi Precision Engineering, says it supplied 14 semifinished machine components, ordered by Tahir, to Dubai. It says it understood the parts were for use in the oil and gas industry. The actual order was placed by a British company in Dubai called Gulf Technical Industries (GTI). Tahir apparently sold them their computers and serviced them. He would have been in a perfect position to install a backdoor and use GTIâs computers to place the order without their knowledge. Malaysian police have been investigating Tahir, who is married to the daughter of a former Malaysian diplomat, said a senior official. Ah, no wonder he hasnât been picked up, itâs another family affair. "Malaysian police have spoken to him and asked him a lot of questions," Abdullah said. "So, you still related to you-know-who?" "Yup" "Ok, thatâll be all. Nice talking to you, Mr. tahir." Police say theyâre not detaining Tahir because he has apparently broken no local laws. Malaysia has ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it is unclear whether its laws allow criminal prosecution for nuclear parts trafficking. Minor loophole Posted by: Steve 2004-02-12 |
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