Daily Corruption Report DCR 88 - 27th Nov 2009


International: Police officers using steroids 'open to corruption'
BBC News

Angola: Angola to probe graft, may charge officials
Reuters South Africa (TI mention)

Italy: Berlusconi corruption trial to resume on Dec 4
New York Times

Kenya: KACC board picks Lumumba to lead war on corruption
Business Daily Africa

Philippines: Years of living dangerously as journalists in the Philippines
Reuters

South Africa: Corrupt officials shown door
Times Live

Daily Corruption Report # 87 - 26th Nov 2009


International: Wikileaks website offers promising outlet for fighting corruption
Deutsche Welle

International: IMF says transparency key to $1.4 bln Angola loan
Reuters Africa (TI mention)

Afghanistan: Is corruption in Afghanistan too deep to root out?
Reuters (TI mention)

Pakistan: Pakistani's corruption woes jeopardize presidential tenure
Washington Times

Russia: Russian official admits wrongdoing in Magnitsky's death
New York Times

South Africa: Hundreds arrested for housing fraud
Times Live

Uganda: Govt turns to cyber to fight graft
Daily Monitor (TI mention)

انٹرنیٹ سافٹ وئر فراڈ، کروڑوں متاثر

کریڈٹ کارڈ اور کمپیوٹر

انٹرنیٹ صارفین ڈر کر گھبراہٹ میں جعلی سافٹ وئر خرید لیتے ہیں

انٹرنیٹ سکیورٹی کے ماہرین کا کہنا ہے کہ ہزاروں افراد آن لائن سکیورٹی سے متعلق ایک خطرناک فراڈ کا نشانہ بن رہے ہیں۔

اس فراڈ کو چلانے والے جرائم پیشہ افراد کمپیوٹر صارفین کو پہلے اس انتباہ سے ڈراتے ہیں کہ ان کے کپمیوٹر کی سکیورٹی ناکام ہو چکی ہے لہذا اب ان کی تمام فائلوں کو خطرہ ہے اور اس کے بعد ان کو پاپ اپ کے ذریعے جعلی سکیورٹی سافٹ وئر ڈاون لوڈ کرنے کو کہتے ہیں۔

یہ جعلی سکیورٹی کے پاپ اپس اس طرح بنائے گئے ہیں کہ دیکھنے میں یہ مائکرو سافٹ اور دیگر معروف سکیورٹی سافٹ وئر سے ملتے جلتے ہیں۔

کمپیوٹر سکیورٹی کی کمپنی ’سیمینٹیک‘ کے مطابق پچھلے ایک سال میں چار کروڑ لوگ اس فراڈ کا شکار ہوئے ہیں

اس جعلی سکیورٹی وارننگ سے صارف کو انتہائی خطرے کا خوف دلایا جاتا ہے۔ کپمیوٹر اور فائلوں کی ’حفاظت‘ کے لیے نئے سافٹ وئر کی قیمت سو ڈالر تک ہو سکتی ہے۔

لیکن اس جعلی سافٹ وئر سے نہ صرف کپمیوٹر کو نقصان پہنچ سکتا ہے بلکہ اس کے ذریعے جرائم پیشہ افراد اس کمپیوٹر صارف کے کریڈٹ کارڈ کی تفصیلات بھی حاصل کر سکتے ہیں۔

کمپیوٹر سکیورٹی کی کمپنی ’سیمینٹیک‘ کے مطابق پچھلے ایک سال میں چار کروڑ لوگ اس فراڈ کا شکار ہوئے ہیں۔

اس جعلی سکیورٹی وارننگ سے صارف کو انتہائی خطرے کا خوف دلایا جاتا ہے۔ کپمیوٹر اور فائلوں کی ’حفاظت‘ کے لیے نئے سافٹ وئر کی قیمت سو ڈالر تک ہو سکتی ہے

سیمینٹیک کی رپورٹ میں جون دو ہزار آٹھ سے جون دو ہزار نو کے عرصے کا جائزہ لیا گیا ہے۔ اس میں کہا گیا ہے اس فراڈ کے دو مرحلے ہیں۔ پہلے مرحلے میں تو آپ کو ڈرا کر ایک جعلی اور غیر ضروری سافٹ وئر پرورگام بیچ دیا جاتاہے۔ لیکن دوسرا مرحلہ زیادہ خطرناک ہے کیونکہ اکثر جرائم پیشہ افراد اپ کی ذاتی فائلیں اور معلومات چرا لیتے ہیں اور ان کو ’یرغمال‘ بنا کر صارف سے پیسہ وصول کرتے ہیں۔

پولیس اور سکیورٹی اداروں کے لیے ایسے فراڈ کی تفتیش کرنا اس لیے مشکل ہے کہ اس میں پیسے کی رقم زیادہ نہیں ہوتی۔

انٹرنیٹ کے ماہرین کہتے ہیں کہ صارفین کو اس نوعیت کے فراڈ سے بچنے کے لیے بہت محتاط رہنا ہوگا۔ ان کا کہنا ہے کہ اب زمانہ بدل چکا ہے اور پہلے جہاں انٹرنیٹ صارفین کو دیگر وائرسوں سے خطرہ تھا جن کو شرارت کے طور پر شروع کیا جاتا تھا اب جو ان کو ایسے فراڈ کا سامنا ہے جو اس لیے بہت خطرناک ہے کہ اس کے ذریعے فراڈ کرنے والے آپ کی تمام فائلوں اور خفیہ معلومات پر قابض ہو سکتا ہے۔

International:
Hanging on
The New York Times (Opinion, TI mention)

International: British property developer claims police protection after Sydney murder
The Guardian

Afghanistan:Afghan election officials 'corrupt'
The Telegraph

Burundi: Graft costs Burundi $30 mln in six months: NGO
Agence France-Presse

Taiwan: Taiwan's Chen awaits verdict in corruption trial
Associated Press

Turkey: Turkish media group Dogan shares rebound on deal hopes
Reuters

USA: Records: Martinez aide intervened in dispute between Pentagon, GOP fundraiser
The Miami Herald

Details:



International: Hanging on
The New York Times (Opinion, TI mention)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/opinion/10iht-edwalker.html

Op-Ed Contributor
Hanging On
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By CHRISTOPHER WALKER
Published: September 9, 2009

NEW YORK — Among the heads of state expected to descend on New York City for the United Nations General Assembly this autumn is an elite subset of their ranks — leaders distinguished by unparalleled longevity in office and general intolerance for dissent.

Muammar el-Qaddafi will have the privilege of speaking at the opening session. It was 40 years ago this month that Qaddafi, then a young army captain, led a coup against King Idris of Libya. Now 67, Qaddafi came to power during the first term of Richard Nixon.

Later that same afternoon, Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, in charge since the administration of Jimmy Carter (and two days older than Qaddafi), will address the General Assembly. Obiang seized control in 1979 after deposing and executing Francisco Macias Nguema.

The exceptional staying power of Qaddafi and Obiang is a political curiosity, but comes at a steep price. Despite enormous windfalls from abundant natural energy resources, both Libya and Equatorial Guinea remain deeply impoverished. And after decades of erratic rule, key institutions — to the extent that they operate at all — are largely incapable of meeting ordinary people’s needs.

These two are hardly atypical: The leadership longevity list includes some of the world’s most ruthless and ossified governments. In Cuba, the Castro brothers have held power for four decades, and counting. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez has held power now for “only” 10 years. This decade may just be a warm up: In February, Chávez engineered a referendum victory to abolish term limits.

The former Soviet Union is well represented on the list, including the likes of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In Africa, Libya and Equatorial Guinea are part of a large group that also includes Egypt, Angola, Cameroon and Sudan.

Although none of these countries are formally monarchies, some of them feature dynasties in the making. Azerbaijan and Syria, for example, have already undergone father-to-son transfers of power, and others, including Egypt and Libya, are signaling similar successions.

Despite differences in political tradition, culture and history, all of these countries today share at least two critical common features: heavy restrictions on political expression and participation. The bottom line in these settings is political influence, and the economic benefit that accompanies it remains within a well defined circle. Those who challenge the status quo find themselves in jail or worse.

A particularly bleak picture emerges when leader-for-life regimes are placed alongside their respective rankings for media freedom (using data from Freedom House) and corruption (from Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index).

Of 20 countries fitting the leader-for-life mold, all are designated as Not Free in Freedom House’s annual media freedom survey. Egypt, whose 81-year-old president, Hosni Mubarak, is serving his fifth six-year term, looks the best of a group of dreadfully poor performers. It ranks 128th out of 195 countries on media freedom.

The story is similarly grim for corruption, where virtually all of these countries are in the bottom quarter of the 180 countries reviewed by Transparency International.

While some argue that the authoritarian leader-for-life model — with its tight control over politics, economic life, and news and information — can deliver stability, there is a significant cost. Scholars and policymakers have long understood the relationship between free and independent news media and reduced levels of corruption, greater governmental effectiveness, stronger rule of law and generally better development results.

Early on in his rule, Robert Mugabe was considered by some as a case study for “strong-handed” leadership that, the thinking went, could deliver benefits for ordinary Zimbabweans. Three decades later, Mugabe has driven Zimbabwe into abject poverty and misery.

Similar strongman arguments are made today in Russia’s case, where Vladimir Putin has pursued a “dictatorship of law” while putting in place the building blocks to remain paramount leader indefinitely. Putin choreographed a handoff of the presidency last year to Dmitry Medvedev, through which Putin, as prime minister, continues to wield enormous influence. There is widespread speculation that Putin may next return to the presidency. In the meantime, Russia’s governance leaves a great deal to be desired.

The refusal of these regimes to allow the emergence of authentic political alternatives and independent watchdogs means that official mismanagement goes unchecked.

At the same time, competing ideas that could help improve government policies and the lives of ordinary people are suppressed. Whatever stability exists in these settings all too often entails grinding poverty for most citizens and a dependence on the dubious management skills of aging autocrats.

Christopher Walker is director of studies at Freedom House.


International: British property developer claims police protection after Sydney murder
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/09/mark-burby-police-protection-australia

British property developer claims police protection after Sydney murder

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 September 2009 22.41 BST
Article history

A British property developer said tonight he has been placed under British police protection after fears that he could be targeted by the unknown killers who shot dead a Sydney businessman last week in a case that has gripped Australia.

Mark Burby's claims add fresh intrigue to a convoluted tale that already takes in the fabulously wealthy royal family of Brunei, alleged political corruption and a jewel-encrusted Qur'an supposedly obtained from a former KGB agent.

Burby, a Jersey-based entrepreneur, previously best known for winning a £50m legal case against a company owned by relatives of the Sultan of Brunei, said he had received threats from people whose identities he could not reveal, in phone calls and emails. Jersey police and Scotland Yard were treating the matter seriously and providing protection, he said.

Burby said he was worried because he had access to "delicate" information which had also been known to Michael McGurk, a Scottish-born property developer shot dead in front of his 10-year-old son last Thursday evening. McGurk had been embroiled in separate legal action against the Sultan of Brunei over a matchbox-sized Qu'ran in a jewelled case.

There is no suggestion that the Brunei royal family, who rule the tiny, oil-producing nation on the northern tip of Borneo in south-east Asia, played any role in the businessman's death or are linked to the threats against Burby.

McGurk, 48, who was alleged to have underworld connections and was facing charges relating to an alleged firebombing, was shot as he sat in his Mercedes in the drive of the family's mansion in Cremorne, north Sydney. He had told several people he had an audio tape that implicated New South Wales state ministers in corrupt land deals and someone was trying to kill him because of it.

Burby, 43, said he was convinced his connections to McGurk put him at risk, and that the UK police believed this was the case. "I have been receiving threats, and within them has been a definite inference that the same thing could happen to me as happened to Michael," he said. "I showed an email to the police and they have been fantastic, especially considering the information I gave them sounds like something out of a Tom Clancy novel. It took them less than 20 minutes, having seen some corroborating information, to realise this was a serious situation."

Both the Jersey police and Scotland Yard said they were unable to comment.

Burby's dispute with the Brunei royal family came after the sultan's cousin and sister-in-law promised to invest in a tea and coffee retail chain. Burby claimed the money failed to materialise, and won damages in 2005 of nearly £50m, which he has since sought unsuccessfully to recoup.

McGurk failed in his attempt to sue the Sultan of Brunei for allegedly reneging on the purchase of the tiny £5m Qur'an, which he said had been obtained from a former KGB agent and was to be a gift for the sultan's third wife. In Australia, the shock of McGurk's murder – for which police have yet to identify any suspects – has been compounded by the claims about political corruption.

The Labour premier of New South Wales, Nathan Rees, agreed to launch a parliamentary inquiry into allegations arising from the case that planning approval was improperly given to people associated with McGurk.

McGurk, who arrived in Australia in his early 20s, reportedly made a habit of learning "interesting things" about associates to use when deals soured. After his death it emerged that three months ago he had played his supposedly incriminating audio tape to a Labour former federal cabinet minister turned PR executive, Graham Richardson, concerning one of his clients

Although Richardson claimed the tape was inaudible at a crucial section, police have passed the matter to the independent commission against corruption.

Afghanistan:Afghan election officials 'corrupt'
The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/6168493/Afghan-election-officials-corrupt.html

Afghan election officials 'corrupt'
Afghan electoral officials are corrupt and working to keep Hamid Karzai in power, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential elections has said.


By Ben Farmer in Kabul
Published: 3:36PM BST 10 Sep 2009

Abdullah Abdullah said the Independent Election Commission (IEC) was helping to rig the ballot for the incumbent and such a fraudulent vote would lead to instability.

He outspoken remarks came as a United Nations-backed election complaints watchdog ordered results from 83 polling stations to be cast out because of vote rigging.

Preliminary results from the August 20 poll show it is a near mathematical certainty Hamid Karzai has crossed the 50 per cent threshold needed for first round victory, unless large numbers of his votes are annulled for fraud.

The Karzai-appointed IEC has been accused of failing to vet votes for blatant rigging.

Dr Abdullah said: "It's not independent at all. It's on President Karzai's side. It has been corrupt, and their malpractice is now widespread.

"It's not for the good of the country that somebody who commits massive fraud rules the country for five years," he told the BBC.

Mr Karzai has 54.1 per cent of votes counted and Dr Abdullah 28.3 per cent after nearly 92 per cent of polling stations were tallied.

Pre election polls suggested Mr Karzai was the favourite, but the scale of his lead has caused widespread suspicion.

Full preliminary results are expected on Saturday.

The scale of fraud and Dr Abdullah's uncompromising stance has alarmed the international community which sees a credible poll as key to making progress in Afghanistan.

The Electoral Complaints Commission is sifting through 2,800 complaints about rigging and issued its first orders to throw out results in Kandahar, Paktika and Ghazni provinces.

It has already called for recounts where suspiciously high numbers of voters turned out.

Opponents have complained intimidation, ballot-box stuffing and "ghost" polling stations have delivered huge numbers of votes for the president.

A US election monitoring group said "large numbers of polling stations" had more than 100 per cent turnout.

The National Democratic Institute said it would be "impossible to determine the will of the Afghan people," unless rigging complaints were investigated.

Burundi: Graft costs Burundi $30 mln in six months: NGO
Agence France-Presse

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hJKr7gyu9wOPwYnKqEl5xXqKpZ3w

Graft costs Burundi $30 mln in six months: NGO

(AFP) – 16 hours ago

BUJUMBURA — Graft has become a "way of life" affecting all levels of government in Burundi and cost the country 30 million dollars (21 million euros) in the first six months of the year, a corruption watchdog said.

"In the first half alone (we) registered 1,634 cases of corruption and fraud and some ... 30 million dollars of state money siphoned off," Gabriel Rufyiri, the head of anti-graft non-governmental organisation Olucome, said in a press conference late Wednesday at the launch of his group's six-monthly report.

"Unfortunately those in charge of government do nothing to recover this money; on the contrary one gets the impression that corruption has become a way of life affecting all levels of government," Rufyiri said.

He gave the example of sugar imports, complaining that out of 5,920 tonnes of sugar imported in the first half, only 706 tonnes were recorded in customs documents "and no customs officials were investigated".

"We know who is guilty of fraud and we don't investigate them. I get the impression the fraud gets the blessing of the very people who are supposed to fight it," Rufyiri said.

He gave the example of the director of the state-owned real estate company and the finance ministry spokesman, sentenced respectively to 26 and 10 years in prison in January, but who are still in their jobs.

Rufyiri's deputy Ernest Manirumva was stabbed to death in April by unknown attackers who carried off some documents.

Olucome had revealed several cases of large-scale fraud ranging from the illegal sale of a presidential plane in 2006, overbilling of petroleum products that led to the firing of one finance minister, the flight into exile of a second one and the jailing of the head of the central bank.

Burundi's finances have been ruined by 13 years of civil war; some 70 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Taiwan: Taiwan's Chen awaits verdict in corruption trial
Associated Press

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hA1Z8MlHPhdXAe2_2z7zBBZhV99QD9AK7L882

Taiwan's Chen awaits verdict in corruption trial

By PETER ENAV (AP) – 21 hours ago

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A Taiwan court will decide Friday if former President Chen Shui-bian is guilty of corruption, in a trial widely seen as a key test of the island's young democracy.

Chen, 58, is accused of embezzling $3.15 million during his 2000-2008 presidency from a special presidential fund, receiving bribes worth at least $9 million in connection with a government land deal, laundering some of the money through Swiss bank accounts, and forging documents.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Chen has pleaded not guilty and claims he is being persecuted for his anti-China views by successor Ma Ying-jeou, a strong advocate of improved ties with Beijing.

Chen's legal travails have galvanized this island of 23 million people, which held its first direct presidential election in 1996, less than a decade after it began dismantling four-decades of strict, one-party rule.

Most Taiwanese are convinced Chen is guilty of at least some of the charges against him, though some of his supporters believe his political views have played a role in his prosecution and that he has been unfairly confined to jail during his trial.

Critics point to a decision to change the three-judge Taipei District Court panel trying Chen after it originally freed him on his own recognizance following his indictment last December. The new judges accepted the prosecutors' argument that he constituted a flight risk, and that if freed, he could collude with alleged co-conspirators.

Political scientist Hsu Yung-ming of Taipei's Soochow University said there were elements of retribution in Chen's treatment.

"Chen's case will serve as a warning for Ma and future leaders so that they may refrain from walking in his footsteps," he said. "At the same time, many question whether Chen is being punished because of political clash between him and the current administration."

Chen, Taiwan's first non-Nationalist Party leader since Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island after losing the Chinese civil war to Mao Zedong's Communists in 1949, rode to power in 2000 on a promise to clean up decades of Nationalist corruption and to deepen Taiwan's de facto independence.

But he quickly fell afoul of the Nationalists' majority in the legislature and his alleged tendency to play fast and loose with accepted procedures, including his lax management of a special presidential fund, meant to promote Taiwan's overseas interests.

Complicating matters was China's outright hostility, based on Chen's pro-independence views, and his tense relations with the United States, Taiwan's most important foreign partner.

Washington saw Chen's support for independence as raising the possibility of a war with Beijing, and pressured him to desist — with only limited success.

Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen, their son and several associates are standing trial with him.

Last week Wu was convicted on perjury charges and sentenced to a year in prison. She remains free on her own recognizance.


Turkey: Turkish media group Dogan shares rebound on deal hopes
Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSTRE5891S620090910

Turkish media group Dogan shares rebound on deal hopes
Thu Sep 10, 2009 4:59am EDT

By Paul de Bendern

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Shares in Turkey's top media group Dogan, locked in a long-running feud with the government, rebounded on Thursday after losing more than a third in value in the past two days due to a record $2.51 billion tax fine.

Critics of the government say Dogan Yayin is being unfairly punished because of its often harsh coverage of the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, particularly over corruption allegations earlier this year. The government denies this.

The Finance Ministry fined Dogan Yayin 3.76 billion lira this week for unpaid taxes and penalties in what is the largest ever fine for a Turkish company.

Shares in Dogan Yayin, which owns top-selling newspaper Hurriyet (HURGZ.IS) and co-owns with Time Warner (TWX.N) broadcaster CNN Turk, rose 8.5 percent on Thursday after losses of 36 percent in the past two days.

Analysts said upbeat comments on Wednesday about the possibility of negotiating a settlement between the Finance Ministry and Dogan Yayin were encouraging investors.

It was the second major fine this year for Dogan Yayin, which controls more than half of the non-state media market and has been at odds in recent years with Erdogan over its coverage of the Islamist-rooted government.

Earlier this year Erdogan called on ruling AK Party members to boycott Dogan newspapers because of their coverage of the government.

International press groups have criticized the frequent statements by the prime minister against Dogan. The European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, has also raised concern.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party on Wednesday accused the government of using the Finance Ministry's tax authority to punish a media group critical of the AK Party.

The government rejects the accusations, saying the Finance Ministry's tax authority is autonomous.

The fine roughly equals the $2.7 billion combined market value of the firm and its parent company, Dogan Holding (DOHOL.IS), raising concerns about the impact on the group's finances.

Senior government sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Dogan Yayin would need to raise collateral during the process.

"The stock was sold heavily yesterday. It opened with strong buying. It is very hard to reach a verdict. The collateral issue will be observed very closely, and the volatility in the stock may continue," said Tuncay Tursucu, head of research at Meksa Investment in Istanbul.

(Additional reporting by Birsen Altayli; Editing by Hans Peters)

USA: Records: Martinez aide intervened in dispute between Pentagon, GOP fundraiser
The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/1218572.html

Records: Martinez aide intervened in dispute between Pentagon, GOP fundraiser
Records show that an aide to Sen. Mel Martinez urged the Pentagon to come to a `fair resolution' in its contract dispute with an oil company owned by GOP fundraiser Harry Sargeant III.
Related Content

BY SCOTT HIAASEN
shiaasen@MiamiHerald.com

Sen. Mel Martinez's office repeatedly intervened in a 2007 legal dispute between the Defense Department and a company owned by a top Republican fundraiser who is now at the center of a campaign-finance investigation, according to records obtained by The Miami Herald.

In a series of phone calls and e-mails, a Martinez aide urged Pentagon contract officers to seek a ``fair resolution'' to $14 million in contract claims sought by the International Oil Trading Co., a fuel-supply company co-owned by Harry Sargeant III of Boca Raton.

At one point, Pentagon officials told the senator's office it was ``not appropriate'' to discuss any settlements while the company's lawsuit was pending in court, records show.

As Martinez's staffer was lobbying the Pentagon, Sargeant and his wife donated $50,000 to the Republican National Committee -- then headed by Martinez. At the time, Sargeant was the finance chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.

Martinez, who will step down from his Senate seat next week, did not respond to several interview requests made through his press secretary.

In the past, he has said the RNC donations were unrelated to Sargeant's contract dispute.

Sargeant's company ultimately received $3.2 million from the Defense Department -- settling claims the Pentagon had initially denied entirely. The Pentagon says Martinez played no role in the settlement.

EMPLOYEE INDICTED

Sargeant gained notoriety last year as a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, whose campaign returned $50,000 in suspicious donations solicited by a Sargeant business partner. In February, an employee of a Sargeant company was indicted on federal charges of funneling illegal contributions to several candidates, including McCain and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist -- a college buddy of Sargeant's.

The employee, Ala'a al-Ali, is accused of using straw donors in California to steer about $55,000 in illegal contributions to candidates.

Ali, who worked for a Sargeant shipping company in the Dominican Republic, later repaid the donors, avoiding contribution limits, the indictment says.

A month before the indictment, Sargeant stepped down from his role with the Florida GOP. He did not respond to requests for comment.

Sargeant first sought help from Martinez -- a member of the Armed Services Committee -- in 2006, dispatching lobbyist and former Bush administration official Otto Reich to the senator's office after the Defense Department initially denied IOTC's claims for alleged contract violations.

IOTC is one of the top fuel suppliers to American forces in Iraq, earning more than $1.4 billion, records show. Following a congressional inquiry last year, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., accused Sargeant's company of ``war profiteering'' and asked the Pentagon to investigate IOTC's contracts.

In an interview with The Miami Herald last year, Martinez said he offered only ``routine'' assistance to Sargeant's company. He said his office helped IOTC obtain information, but he did not try to sway the Pentagon's stance in the case.

``I do this for hundreds of people throughout the state of Florida,'' Martinez said last year.

But the e-mails -- obtained through a request under the Freedom of Information Act -- indicate that Martinez's office was more actively involved in the contract dispute than the senator has publicly acknowledged.

In a May 3, 2007, e-mail to a Pentagon official, Martinez aide John Goetchius said the senator ``wants to raise the level of attention in hope of expediting a fair resolution of these claims.''

A month earlier, Sargeant's company had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, seeking $10.1 million for contract violations -- claims the Pentagon had previously denied.

In another e-mail, dated April 19, 2007, Goetchius -- an expert on military and foreign affairs -- asked how the company's claims could be settled quickly. ``Is there precedent for doing a batch resolution and rounding the numbers up or down and saving time?'' he asked.

Goetchius also transmitted questions from IOTC to the Pentagon, and parroted the company's legal arguments, the records show.

``IOTC still wants to avoid costly, time-consuming litigation,'' the senator's aide wrote in one message to the Pentagon. ``If IOTC had known what to expect, IOTC would have considered bidding at a higher price.''

CAUTIOUS RESPONSE

Contract officers at the Defense Department responded carefully to Goetchius' queries. On two occasions, Pentagon aides refused to discuss details or a potential settlement with Martinez's aide, saying it was ``not appropriate'' to do so while IOTC's claims were pending in court, the e-mail records show.

``I just spoke to John Goetchius,'' one Pentagon staffer wrote to a colleague. ``He wants to avoid the perception of undue influence, but would like to sent [sic] the message that the parties should consider a settlement resolution.''

In September 2007, the Pentagon agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle two of IOTC's contract claims. The Pentagon agreed to the deal after IOTC provided more information to back up its damages claims, said Dennis Gauci, a Defense Department spokesman.

``It is not unusual for members of Congress or their staffs to inquire about issues involving their constituents,'' Gauci said. ``However, neither Senator Martinez nor any member of his staff was ever involved in the resolution process or settlement.''

IOTC also made a third claim demanding $3.8 million to cover the costs of fuel trucks destroyed or abandoned in combat. A military appeals board ruled last year that the Pentagon was not responsible for those losses. IOTC has not taken that claim to court.

Sargeant's company won two more Pentagon fuel contracts, earning a combined profit of $210 million through last year -- and drawing the scrutiny of congressional investigators, who concluded the company charged unreasonably high prices.

The company deploys a fleet of about 300 tankers shipping oil and fuel from Saudia Arabia to Jordan, where the fuel is trucked by convoy to Iraq. IOTC and a subsidiary won approval from the Jordanian government to ship across that country -- a specific requirement of the U.S. military.

Because of the company's agreement with Jordan, the Defense Department awarded the lucrative shipping contracts to IOTC even though its bid prices were more than 30 percent higher than its competitors' prices, congressional investigators found.

A rival contractor filed a federal lawsuit last year accusing IOTC of racketeering, saying the company made payoffs to the Jordanian government to effectively shut out competitors.

In court papers, lawyers for IOTC have called its competitor's claims ``slanderous,'' and said the lawsuit ``mischaracterizes legitimate payments made to the Jordanian government as bribes.''


پاسپورٹ اجراء کیس،یہ مذاق ہے؟ چھوٹے آدمی کو گرفتار کر لیا،بڑے کو چھوڑ دیا،چیف جسٹس،سابق قونصلیٹ جنرل کی عدم گرفتاری پر اظہار برہمی

جمعرات ستمبر 10, 2009

اسلام آباد (جنرل رپورٹر) سپریم کورٹ کے چیف جسٹس افتخار محمد چوہدری نے امریکہ ہوسٹن کے پاکستانی قونصلیٹ سے جعلی پاسپورٹ جاری کرنے کے الزام میں گرفتار اسسٹنٹ قونصلیٹ جنرل محمد نعیم کی درخواست ضمانت پر سماعت آج تک ملتوی کرتے ہوئے چیئرمین نیب کو اس وقت کے قونصلیٹ جنرل کو تاحال گرفتار نہ کرنے کی رپورٹ پیش کرنے کی ہدایات کر دیں۔ گزشتہ روز چیف جسٹس افتخار محمد چوہدری کی سربراہی میں جسٹس غلام ربانی اور جسٹس جواد ایس خواجہ پر مشتمل تین رکنی بنچ نے سماعت شروع کی تو نیب کے پراسیکیوٹر جنرل ڈاکٹر دانشور نے مقدمہ کی پیشرفت سے متعلق رپورٹ عدالت عظمیٰ میں پیش کی ڈاکٹر دانشور نے عدالت کو آگاہ کیا کہ محمد نعیم کی گرفتاری کے حوالے سے ریفرنس دائر کر دیا گیا۔ جسٹس جواد ایس خواجہ نے برہمی کا اظہار کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ آپ اس وقت کے قونصلیٹ جنرل غلام رسول بلوچ کو گرفتار کیوں نہیں کرتے جس پر ڈاکٹر دانشور نے موقف اختیار کیا کہ غلام رسول بلوچ کی گرفتاری کا معاملہ عدالت پر چھوڑ رکھا ہے جسٹس جواد ایس خواجہ نے کہا کہ پہلے آپ کو اسے گرفتار کرنا چاہئے تھا پھر معاملہ عدالت پر چھوڑتے۔ وہ مفرور ہے اس نے جرم کا ارتکاب کیا ہے اس موقع پر محمد نعیم کی جانب سے ذوالفقار عباس نقوی ایڈووکیٹ نے موقف اختیار کیا کہ غلام رسول بلوچ بااثر شخص ہے چیئرمین نیب نے اس کے وارنٹ گرفتاری جاری کرنے سے انکار کیا تھا۔ چیف جسٹس نے برہمی کا اظہار کرتے ہوئے پراسیکیوٹر جنرل نیب سے استفسار کیا کہ یہ کیا مذاق ہے کہ چھوٹے آدمی کو گرفتار کر لیا گیا جبکہ بڑے آدمی کو چھوڑ دیا گیا ہے چیئرمین نیب تحریری بیان عدالت میں پیش کرے کہ وہ رسول بلوچ کو گرفتار نہیں کر سکتے۔ ہم خود اس کی گرفتاری کے احکامات جاری کر دیں گے۔ قانون کی نظر میں سب برابر ہیں قانون نے اس ملک میں سب کے ساتھ ایک جیسا سلوک کرنا ہے اگر امتیازی سلوک روا رکھوگے تو لوگوں کا اعتماد اپنے ادارے سے اٹھ جائے گا۔ جو شخص جعلی پاسپورٹس کا اجراء کرنے میں ملوث ہے اسے تحفظ فراہم کیا جا رہا ہے جسٹس جواد ایس خواجہ نے کہا کہ آپ نے بڑوں اور چھوٹوں کیلئے علیحدہ قانون بنا رکھے ہیں چیف جسٹس نے نیب کے تفتیشی آفیسر کرنل (ر) طارق سے پوچھا کہ غلام رسول بلوچ اس وقت کہاں فرائض سرانجام دے رہا ہے تو انہوں نے بتایا کہ وہ وزارت خارجہ میں ڈائریکٹر جنرل ریسرچ کے طور پر ذمہ داریاں ادا کر رہے ہیں۔ چیف جسٹس نے کہا کہ آرٹیکل پچیس کے تحت سب کے ساتھ یکساں سلوک ہونا چاہئے۔ اگر ایک بار بھی ادارے سے عوام کا اعتماد اٹھ جائے تو آپ بے شک درست کام کرتے رہیں لوگ آپ پر کبھی اعتماد نہیں کریں گے۔ چیف جسٹس نے کہا کہ وہ بھی پراسیکیوٹر جنرل رہ چکے ہیں لیکن انہوںنے کبھی خلاف قانون کام نہیں کیا۔ آپ بھی اپنے حکام کو آگاہ کر دیں کہ خلاف قانون کام کی کوئی جگہ نہیں ہے دلائل سننے کے بعد فاضل بنچ نے مذکورہ حکم جاری کر دیا۔


ذخیرہ اندوزوں سے ڈنڈے کے زور پر چینی نکلوا سکتے ہیں،اقدام ان کیلئے اچھا نہیں ہو گا،شہباز شریف

جمعرات ستمبر 10, 2009

اسلام آباد ( جنر ل رپورٹر ، ر ثناء نیو ز ) ڈنڈے کے زور پر ذخیرہ اندوزوں سے چینی نکلو ا سکتے ہیں یہ سرمایہ کاری کیلئے صحت مند اقدام نہیں ہو گا اس سے سرمایہ کاروں کے اعتماد کو ٹھیس پہنچے گی جن لوگوں کو ماضی میں ان کے آئینی اداروں سےنکالا گیا تھا وہ سیا ستد انو ں کو نشانہ بنا رہے ہیں مل کر جمہوریت کی حفاظت کرنا ہے او ر ملک کو اندھیروں سے نکالنا ہے غریبوں کیلئے وسائل استعمال نہ کئے گئے تو وہ ترقیاتی منصوبوں کو آگ لگا دیں گے جس سے خلق خدا کو روٹی دال نہ ملے ایسی خوشحالی سے عوام کو کوئی سروکار نہیں ہو گا۔ ان خیالات کا اظہار انہوں نے اسلام آباد میں نیشنل پریس کلب کی بانی کابینہ کے اراکین کی تقریب حلف برداری سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کیا وزیراعلیٰ پنجاب میاں محمد شہباز شریف نے کہا ہے کہ آج پاکستان میں جمہوریت کا دور دوبارہ شروع ہو رہاہے جمہوریت سترہ کروڑ عوام اور میڈیا کی گرا نقد ر خدمات کی وجہ سے بحال ہوئی ہے۔ دس سال کے بعد جمہوریت دوبارہ لوٹ کر آئی ہے اسے سنبھالنا ، پرورش کرنا اور تناور درخت بنانا ہماری اجتماعی ذمہ داری ہے ہم سب کا مشترکہ فرض ہے کہ جمہوریت کی حفاظت کریں۔ سیاستدانوں اپوزیشن تمام طبقات تاریخ کے دھار ے کو تبدیل کرنے میں نمایاں کردار ادا کرنے والوں سب کی ذمہ داری ہے کہ جمہوریت کو مضبوط کریں دو تین ہفتے سے آپریشن جیکا ل جیسے واقعات پر میڈیا میں گفتگو ہو رہی ہے ضرور تاریخ کے اوراق میں جھانکا جائے تاریخ سے سبق حاصل کرنا چاہیے تاہم اس وقت جو چیلنجز در پش ہیں اسی پر توجہ مرکوز ہونی چاہیے ۔ حکومت ، سول سوسائٹی ، میڈیا ، سیا ستد ان سب کو ان چیلنجز کامل کر مقابلہ کرنا ہے اس کیلئے شبانہ روز محنت کرنا ہے کیونکہ آئی ایم ایف ایک بار پھر پاکستان میں گھر کر چکا ہے آئی ایم ایف سے ڈکٹیشن لی جارہی ہے پاکستان میں بجلی کی ڈیمانڈ اور سپلائی میں فرق ہے۔ صنعت جمود کا شکار ہے ۔ دنیا کی مارکیٹ شدید خطرات سے دو چار ہے اور اس کی وجہ سے پاکستان میں بھی بحر انی کیفیت ہے ۔ صنعت ، حرفت و تجارت اور زراعت کو قائم رکھنے اور آگے بڑھانے کیلئے محنت درکار ہے امن و امان کا مسئلہ ہے دہشت گردی عوامی مسائل ہیں ان مسائل کو حل کرنے میں سب کو کردار ادا کرنا ہے عوامی مسائل کو اجاگر کرنے کے حوالے سے میڈیا کا قابل ستائش کردار ہے مسائل کو حل کرنے کیلئے من حیث ا لقو م اپنی تو انا ئیوں کو صرف کرنا ہو گا انہوں نے کہا کہ حالات یہی رہے تو جمہوریت سے لوگوں کا دل اداس ہو سکتا ہے جمہوریت کو پٹڑی سے اتارنے کا ملک متحمل نہیں ہو سکتا انہوں نے کہا کہ میڈیا میں دو تین ہفتے سے جو مر ثیے اور تجز یے پیش کئے جارہے ہیں اور جو کچھ شائع کیا جارہاہے اس میں وہ لوگ ملوث ہیں جنہیں ماضی میں انہیں آئینی اداروں سے نکالا گیا تھا اور یہ سیاستدانوں کو نشانہ بنا رہے ہیں سب کیلئے سوچنے کا مقام ہے ہمیں غربت اور کرپشن کو ختم کرنا ہے پاکستان کا کھویا ہوا مقام حاصل کرنا ہے ۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ ہم میڈیا کی تنقید سے رہنمائی حاصل کرتے ہیں میڈیا نے قلم کو تیز دھار تلوار کے ذریعے ہم پر جو تنقید کی ہے ہمیں قطعاً میڈیا سے اس پر کوئی شکایت نہیں میڈیا کے ان تجز یوں کو آگے بڑھنا چاہیے پاکستان کو خدا نخواستہ ناکام ریاست قرار دینے کی کوشش کی جارہی ہے پاکستان قطعاً ناکام ریاست نہیں ہے مسائل اور کمزوریاں ضرور ہیں اس کی بنیادی وجہ یہ ہے کہ ہم بیرونی امداد پر چلتے رہے ہیں اور اس نشے میں کئی برس گزار د ئیے ہیں انہوں نے کہا کہ عوام بہت بڑی طاقت ہے اصل مسئلہ اشرافیہ کا ہے جسے ہمت اور حوصلے کا ثبوت دینا ہو گا اچھی پالیسیوں پر عمل کرتے ہوئے پاکستان کو اندھیروں سے نکال کر ا جا لو ں کی طرف لے جا سکتے ہیں پاکستان گندم میں خود کفیل ہے۔ اس سال تیس لاکھ ٹن اضافی گندم موجود ہے چینی کا بھی وافر اسٹاک موجود ہے جو کہ جنوری اور فروری تک ضروریات کو پورا کر سکتا ہے نومبر میں کر شنگ سیزن کے آغاز سے مزید چینی آ جائے گی اصل مسئلہ تقسیم کا ہے انہوں نے کہا کہ سٹے بازوں ، مل مالکان ، ڈیلرز سب نے ملی بھگت سے اس معاملے کو خراب کیا پنجاب حکومت نے اقدامات کرتے ہوئے ذخیرہ اندوزوں کے سٹاک پر قبضہ کیا لاہور ہائی کورٹ نے چینی کی قیمت چالیس روپے مقرر کرنے کا حکم دیا ہے لاہور ہائی کورٹ کے چیف جسٹس خواجہ شریف انتہائی دیانتدار جج ہیں انہوں نے کہا کہ چیف جسٹس آف پاکستان افتخار محمد چو ہدر ی سے لے کر آج تمام عدلیہ آزاد ہے قوم کو سجدہ شکر بجا لانا چاہیے ہم عدلیہ کا احترام کرتے ہیں عدلیہ کی فعالیت پر خوش ہیں پریشان نہیں ہیں قوم قانون کی عملداری کو مضبوط کرے گی اور حکمران اس پر عمل کریں گے تو چیلنجز کا با آسانی مقابلہ کیا جا سکتا ہے انہوں نے کہا کہ چینی اور آٹے کے حوالے سے پنجاب میں لائنیں ضرور لگی ہیں تاہم ایک خاندان کو آٹے کے حوالے سے پنجاب میں ایک ہزار روپے کا فائدہ پہنچ رہاہے عام مارکیٹ میں تمام جگہوں پر یہ سستا آٹا اس لئے نہیں دے سکتے کہ امیر بھی وہاں سے خرید تے ہیں امرا ء کو اس طریقے سے فائدہ پہنچانا وسائل کا غلط استعمال ہے ہم ایسا نہیں کر سکتے۔ ہاں ہم نے وزراء اور سیکر ٹر یز کو عوام کو چینی اور آٹا فراہم کرنے پر لگایا ہے خلق خدا کے چولہے ٹھنڈے ہوئے تو وہ تمام منصوبوں کو آگ لگا دیں گے ایسی سڑکوں ، عمارتوں ، دفاتر کا کیا فائدہ جس سے عوام کے چولہے ٹھنڈے ہوں غریبوں کو روٹی اور دال نہ ملے انہیں کسی خوشحالی سے غرض نہیں ہے انہوں نے کہا کہ معاشرے کو بچانے کیلئے ہمیں بھوکی انسانیت ، بیواؤں ، یتیموں ، بے سہارا لوگوں کے لئے وسائل کو استعمال کرنا ہو گا ورنہ وہ ان محلات اور دفاتر کو آگ لگا دیں گے ہمیں سسٹم کو بہتر بنانا ہے وسائل غریبوں کیلئے مختص کرنے ہیں انہیں اپنے پاؤں پر کھڑا کرنا ہے تاکہ وہ معاشرے پر بوجھ بننے کے بجائے معاشرے کے بوجھ کو کم کریں انہوں نے کہا کہ وقت کا تقاضا ہے کہ ہم جمہوریت کو بچانے کیلئے تو انا ئیا ں صرف کریں الزام تراشی کا سلسلہ بند ہونا چاہیے اور مل کر بانی پاکستان قائداعظم محمد علی جناح اور علامہ اقبال کے خوابوں کے مطابق اس ملک کی تعمیر کرنی ہے انہوں نے کہا کہ ہمیں چینی کی قیمت کے حوالے سے مشکلات درپیش ہیں کیونکہ فیصلہ کیا گیا ہے کہ پنجاب میں چینی کی قیمت چالیس روپے مقرر ہو گی دیگر تینوں صوبوں میں اس طرح کی صورتحال نہیں ہے میں ڈنڈے کے زور پر ذخیرہ اندوزوں سے چینی نکلو ا سکتا ہوں مگر یہ سرمایہ کاری کیلئے صحت مند اقدام نہیں ہو گا انہوں نے کہا کہ چینی کی قیمت کے حوالے سے اگر یہی صورتحال رہی تو یہ چینی دیگر صوبوں بلکہ بھارت جہاں پر چینی کی قیمت ساٹھ پیسنٹھ روپے ہے سمگل ہو سکتی ہے۔ پنجاب میں اگر چینی کے نرخ چالیس کے بجائے چار روپے مقرر ہوں تو ہمیں کوئی شکایت نہیں ہو گی ہمیں اس پر خوشی ہو گی تاہم مسئلے کو اس طرح حل کرنا ہے کہ اس سے سرمایہ کاروں کے اعتماد کو ٹھیس نہ پہنچے ۔ پنجاب حکومت لاہور ہائی کورٹ کے فیصلے کے حوالے سے رٹ نہیں کرے گی۔ وفاق نے ہمیں کہا ہے کہ وہ بھی اس کا حل نکا لیں گے ہم چاہتے ہیں کہ اچھے طریقے سے مسئلہ حل ہو وزیراعلیٰ پنجاب نے راولپنڈی اسلام آباد کے صحافیوں کے ہاؤسنگ کے منصوبے کے حوالے سے پلاٹوں کی قیمتوں میں ایک لاکھ روپے کی قسطیں کم کرنے کا اعلان کیا ا نہوں نے نیشنل پریس کلب کیلئے تیس لاکھ روپے کی گرانٹ ، بیواؤں کے پلاٹس کی قسطیں معاف کرنے کا بھی اعلان کیا

کرائے کے بجلی گھروں کیلئے بھاری شرح پر سود سوا کھرب روپے سے زائد کا قرضہ لیکر کمپنیوں کو ادائیگی،وزارت بجلی و پانی ہمیشہ کیلئے مقروض

جمعرات ستمبر 10, 2009

اسلام آباد ( قیصر ندیم مرزا سے ) بجلی بحران کے نام پر غیر ملکی کمپنیوں سے حاصل کی جانے والی رینٹل بجلی سے حالیہ بحران کو ختم کرنے کا دعوی تو کیا جا رہا ہے لیکن ان کمپنیوں کو خطیر رقم کی ادائیگی قومی خزانہ سے ممکن نہیں ہوسکے گی اس سلسلے میں وفاقی وزیر پانی وبجلی راجہ پرویز اشرف کی ہدایت پروزارت نے 5بنکوں سے 1کھرب 26ارب 48کروڑ روپے سے زائد کا قرضہ بھاری شرح سود پر حاصل کرکے وزارت کو ہمیشہ کے لیے مقروض کر دیا ہے ۔ہمارے نمائندے کی تیار کردہ رپورٹ کے مطابق اس وقت ملک میں جہاں بجلی بحران کا ایشو زورں پر ہے وہاں اس مسئلہ سے نجات کیلیے وفاقی وزیر پانی وبجلی راجہ پرویز اشرف کی طرف سے وضع کردہ پالیسی پر بھی سخت تنقید کی جارہی ہے اس سلسلے میں روزنامہ جناح کی تحقیقاتی رپورٹ میں یہ بات سامنے آئی ہے کہ وفاقی وزیر کی طرف سے ملک میں رینٹل پاور کے منصوبوں کو لیکر آنا توانائی کے شعبے کو مزید بحرانوں میں مبتلا کرنے کا باعث بنے گا کیونکہ رینٹل پاور حاصل کرنے کے عوض وزارت پانی وبجلی کو اتنی خطیر رقم ادا کرنا پڑے گی کہ اس کی ادائیگی وزارت کے بجٹ اور ذرائع انکم سے ممکن نہیں ہوسکے گی اس سلسلے میں وفاقی وزیر پانی وبجلی راجہ پرویز اشرف کی طرف سے وزارت کو جاری کردہ ہدایت کی روشنی میں 126ارب 48کروڑ روپے سے زائد کا قرضہ 5بنکوں حبیب بنک لمٹیڈ ، یو بی ایل کنسوریشم، نیشنل بنک ، بنک الفلاح اور عسکری بنک سے حاصل کر لیا گیا ہے یہ بھاری قرضہ 15.31فیصد کے شرح سود کے حساب سے 2 سے 5سال کے عرصہ میں ادا کیا جائے گا جبکہ قرضوں کی ادائیگی کے لیے شرح سود کا تعین کراچی انٹربنک آفر ریٹ kibor) ( کے حساب سے کیا گیا ہے جو 6ماہ بعد تبدیل بھی کیا جاسکے گا یہ تمام قرضے مقامی بنکوں نے منی مارکیٹ سے لیکر وزارت پانی وبجلی کو جاری کیے ہیں۔رپورٹ کے مطابق وزارت پانی وبجلی نے یونائیٹیڈ بنک سے 80ارب 15کروڑ روپے کا قرضہ سکیورٹی ٹرم فنانس سرٹیفکیٹ کی مد میں حاصل کیا ہے جس کی واپسی کی معیاد دو سال مقرر کی گئی ہے تاہم دو سال کی رعائتی مدت بھی دی جاسکے گی ۔وزارت نے نیشنل بنک آف پاکستان سے 4ارب روپے ، عسکری بنک سے 4ارب 83کروڑ روپے اور بنک الفلاح سے 4ارب روپے قرضہ حاصل کیا ہے ۔نیشنل بنک اور بنک الفلاح کے قرضے کی ادائیگی کی مدت 5سال مقرر کی گئی ہے جبکہ عسکری بنک کا قرضہ 3سالوں میں ادا کرنا ہوگا ۔ یہ قرضے پیپکو کے سابقہ قرضوں کی ادائیگی کے نام پر حاصل کیے گئے ہیں جبکہ درحقیقت یہ رقم رینٹل پاور کے منصوبوں کیلیے استعمال کی جائیگی ۔اسی طرح 2سال کے عرصہ کیلیے نیشنل بنک سے مزید 4ارب روپے ، عسکری بنک سے 3ارب 50کروڑ روپے، اور بنک الفلاح سے 4ارب روپے کا قرضہ حاصل کیا گیا ہے پہلی کٹیگری میں حاصل کیے گئے قرضوں کے مقابلے میں ان قرضوں کے شرح سود ایک فیصد کم ہوگی ۔وزارت پانی وبجلی کی طرف سے بنکوں سے حاصل کردہ قرضوں کی ادائیگی کی ضمانت حکومت پاکستان کی طرف سے دی گئی ہے اگر وزارت پانی وبجلی کسی وجہ سے یہ قرضے ادا نہ کر سکی تو حکومت پاکستان پابند ہوگی کہ وہ بنکوںکو قرضے ادا کرئے رپورٹ کے مطابق اگر حکومت پاکستان سوا کھرب روپے سے زائد کی رقم رینٹل منصوبوں پر خرچ کر نے کے بجائے ملک میں موجود پاور ہاوسز کی پیداواری صلاحیت میں اضافے پر خرچ کرتی ہے تو توانائی کے شعبے پر اس کے دوررس نتائج مرتب ہوں گے ۔


کرائے کے بجلی گھروں میں کرپشن ‘ سپریم کورٹ جائینگے‘فیصل صالح

جمعرات ستمبر 10, 2009

ا سلا م ا با د (خبر نگار خصو صی+ نیوز ایجینسیاں) قومی اسمبلی میں مسلم لیگ( ق )کے پارلیمانی لیڈر مخدوم فیصل صالح حیات نے کہا ہے کہ انکی جماعت حقیقی اپوزیشن کا کر دار ادا کرتے ہوئے حکومت کی ناہلی اور کرپشن کو بے نقاب کر رہی ہے جبکہ مسلم لیگ نواز فرینڈلی اپوزیشن ہے‘ راجہ پرویز اشرف کرائے کے بجلی گھروں میں کرپشن میں ملوث ہیں اسکی تحقیقات ہو نی چاہیئے ‘ ا ن خیا لا ت کا ا ظہا ر ا نہو ں نے پریس کانفرنس سے خطا ب کرتے ہوئے کیا‘ فیصل صالح حیات نے کہا کہ اپوزیشن کی حیثیت سے ان کا راستہ روکا جا رہا ہے،اسمبلی کی کوئی وقعت نہیں یہ لوگ اپنی قراردادوں پر عمل نہیں کرا سکتے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ وزیراعظم نے ستر لاکھ کے اثاثے ظاہر کئے جبکہ وہ دس دس لاکھ روپے کا سوٹ پہنتے ہیں، چند روز قبل ہی وزیراعظم کی اہلیہ کیخلاف کیس نیب سے ڈیل کر کے ختم کرایا گیا۔ صدر زرداری نے ایک سال میں ستائیس ممالک کے دورے کئے اور وہ چورانوے دن ملک سے باہر رہے انہوں نے کہا مسلم لیگ ق کے پاس آخری انہو ں نے رینٹل پاورمنصوبوں پر چیف جسٹس سے نوٹس لینے کی اپیل کر تے ہوئے کہا کہ مسلم لیگ ق کے پاس آخری موقع کے طور پر سپریم کورٹ جانے کے سوا کوئی راستہ نہیں ہو گا۔ مخدوم فیصل صالح حیات نے چیف جسٹس آف پاکستان سے اپیل کی ہے کہ وہ رینٹل پاور پلانٹ میں ہونے والی اربوں روپے کی کرپشن پر ازخود نوٹس لیں، حکومت رینٹل پاور منصوبے پر تحقیقات کیلئے پارلیمانی کمیشن تشکیل دے ‘ انہوں نے کہا کہ چوہدری نثار علی خان قومی اسمبلی میں اگر اپوزیشن کا کردار ادا نہیں کرنا چاہتے تو اس عہدے سے استعفیٰ دے دیں تاکہ کل ایسے شخص کو اپوزیشن لیڈر بنایا جاسکے جو صحیح معنوں میں اپوزیشن کر سکے۔ اپوزیشن کے غیر فعال کردار سے جمہوریت مضبوط نہیں ہو سکتی۔ سپیکر قومی اسمبلی نے کرپشن کے حوالے سے جمع کرائی گئی تحریک التواء اعتراض لگا کر واپس کر دی ہے انہوں نے کہا کہ راجہ پرویز اشرف کی پیپلز پارٹی میں کوئی حیثیت نہیں وہ ناہید خان کا ملازم تھے فوجیوں کے ساتھ ڈیل کے طعنے دیئے جاتے ہیں لیکن موجودہ پیپلز پارٹی ضیاء الحق کے دور میں کسی نہ کسی عہدے پر فائز رہی ہے اگر میں نیب زدہ ہوتا تو پیپلز پارٹی کی چیئرپرسن بے نظیر بھٹو اور پیپلز پارٹی کی مجلس عاملہ میں میرے حق میں قرار دادیں پاس نہ ہوتیں موجودہ کابینہ کے زیادہ تر ممبران نیب اور این آر او زدہ ہیں انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ پیپلز پارٹی کے وزراء گیارہ سال حکومت سے باہر رہنے کی وجہ سے لوٹ مار میں مصروف ہیں موجودہ حکومت ڈیڑھ سال کے دوران17 ویں ترمیم کا خاتمہ، میثاق جمہوریت پر عملدرآمد نہیں کروا سکی۔ رینٹل پاور پلانٹ میں ہونے والی کرپشن کو بے نقاب کرنے کے لئے سپریم کورٹ جائیں گے ۔


پرویز اشرف، فیصل صالح ایک دوسرے کوقائل کرنے میں ناکام

جمعرات ستمبر 10, 2009

اسلام آباد(مانیٹرنگ ڈیسک+ نیوز ایجینسیاں) وفاقی وزیر پانی و بجلی راجہ پرویز اشرف اور مسلم لیگ قاف کے رہنما فیصل صالح حیات کرائے کے بجلی گھروں کے منصوبے سے متعلق ایک دوسرے کو قائل کرنے میں ناکام رہے ۔ نجی ٹی وی پر مناظرے ’’ سچ کیا جھوٹ کیا‘‘ میں گفتگو کےدوران وفاقی وزیر پانی و بجلی راجہ پرویز اشرف نے کہا کہ اگر فیول کی قیمت بڑھ جائے تو ٹیرف 18.1سینٹ سے بھی بڑھ سکتا ہے ،ٹیرف کا تعلق فیول کی قیمت کے بڑھنے اور کم ہونے سے ہے ، راجہ پرویز اشرف نے واضح کیا کہ رینٹل پاور منصوبوں پر کسی کت ساتھ بھی حکومت نے 18.1سینٹ فی یونٹ کی شرح سے معاہدہ نہیں کیا ، ریفرنس ٹیرف اور فائنل ٹیرف میں فرق ہوتا ہے ، انہوں نے واضح کیا کہ آئی پی ایل سے ٹوٹل ٹیرف 15.1سینٹ منظور ہوا،18.1ریفرنس ٹیرف ہے ، آئی پی ایل کے ساتھ 18.1سینٹ ٹیرف کا کوئی معاہد ہ نہیں ہوا،انہوں نے وضاحت کی کہ مختلف رینٹل پاور یونٹس میں ٹیکنالوجی مختلف ہونے کے باعث یکساں ٹیرف نہیں، اور وزارت پانی و بجلی نے حتمی ٹیرف نیپرا کو بھجوایا، راجہ پرویز اشرف نے بتایا کہ حکومت کے فراہم کردہ 2250میگاواٹ کے رینٹل پاور یونٹ 15.9سینٹ پر ہیں۔ پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ق) کے قومی اسمبلی میں پارلیمانی لیڈر مخدوم فیصل صالح حیات نے کہا کہ حکومت نے انڈیپنڈنٹ پاور کمپنی کے ساتھ معاہدے کو 18.1سینٹ کے ریفرنس ٹیرف پر منظور کیا ،انہوں نے نیپرا کا جاری کردہ معاہدہ پیش کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ آئی پی ایل کے ساتھ 18.1سینٹ فی یونٹ معاہدے میں موجود ہے ، مخدوم فیصل صالح حیاتکا کہنا تھا کہ نیپرا بجلی کے ٹیرف کے تعین کی واحد اتھارٹی ہے ، ان کا موقف تھا کہ ٹیرف 18.1سینٹ لکھنے کا مطلب یہ ہے کہ ٹیرف اس سطح پر جاسکتاہے، نیپرا آئی پی ایل کے ساتھ 18.1سینٹ فی یونٹ کی شرح سے معاہدہ کرچکی ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ اسمبلی میں بھی انہیں رینٹل پاور پر بات کرنے کا بھرپور موقع نہیں دیا گیا ، دونوں کو مساوی وقت دیا جانا چاہئے۔


International:

International: British property developer claims police protection after Sydney murder

The Guardian

Afghanistan:Afghan election officials 'corrupt'

The Telegraph

Burundi: Graft costs Burundi $30 mln in six months: NGO

Agence France-Presse

Taiwan: Taiwan's Chen awaits verdict in corruption trial

Associated Press

Turkey: Turkish media group Dogan shares rebound on deal hopes

Reuters

USA: Records: Martinez aide intervened in dispute between Pentagon, GOP fundraiser

The Miami Herald

Details:


International: Hanging on

The New York Times (Opinion, TI mention)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/opinion/10iht-edwalker.html

Op-Ed Contributor

Hanging On

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By CHRISTOPHER WALKER

Published: September 9, 2009

NEW YORK — Among the heads of state expected to descend on New York City for the United Nations General Assembly this autumn is an elite subset of their ranks — leaders distinguished by unparalleled longevity in office and general intolerance for dissent.

Muammar el-Qaddafi will have the privilege of speaking at the opening session. It was 40 years ago this month that Qaddafi, then a young army captain, led a coup against King Idris of Libya. Now 67, Qaddafi came to power during the first term of Richard Nixon.

Later that same afternoon, Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, in charge since the administration of Jimmy Carter (and two days older than Qaddafi), will address the General Assembly. Obiang seized control in 1979 after deposing and executing Francisco Macias Nguema.

The exceptional staying power of Qaddafi and Obiang is a political curiosity, but comes at a steep price. Despite enormous windfalls from abundant natural energy resources, both Libya and Equatorial Guinea remain deeply impoverished. And after decades of erratic rule, key institutions — to the extent that they operate at all — are largely incapable of meeting ordinary people’s needs.

These two are hardly atypical: The leadership longevity list includes some of the world’s most ruthless and ossified governments. In Cuba, the Castro brothers have held power for four decades, and counting. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez has held power now for “only” 10 years. This decade may just be a warm up: In February, Chávez engineered a referendum victory to abolish term limits.

The former Soviet Union is well represented on the list, including the likes of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In Africa, Libya and Equatorial Guinea are part of a large group that also includes Egypt, Angola, Cameroon and Sudan.

Although none of these countries are formally monarchies, some of them feature dynasties in the making. Azerbaijan and Syria, for example, have already undergone father-to-son transfers of power, and others, including Egypt and Libya, are signaling similar successions.

Despite differences in political tradition, culture and history, all of these countries today share at least two critical common features: heavy restrictions on political expression and participation. The bottom line in these settings is political influence, and the economic benefit that accompanies it remains within a well defined circle. Those who challenge the status quo find themselves in jail or worse.

A particularly bleak picture emerges when leader-for-life regimes are placed alongside their respective rankings for media freedom (using data from Freedom House) and corruption (from Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index).

Of 20 countries fitting the leader-for-life mold, all are designated as Not Free in Freedom House’s annual media freedom survey. Egypt, whose 81-year-old president, Hosni Mubarak, is serving his fifth six-year term, looks the best of a group of dreadfully poor performers. It ranks 128th out of 195 countries on media freedom.

The story is similarly grim for corruption, where virtually all of these countries are in the bottom quarter of the 180 countries reviewed by Transparency International.

While some argue that the authoritarian leader-for-life model — with its tight control over politics, economic life, and news and information — can deliver stability, there is a significant cost. Scholars and policymakers have long understood the relationship between free and independent news media and reduced levels of corruption, greater governmental effectiveness, stronger rule of law and generally better development results.

Early on in his rule, Robert Mugabe was considered by some as a case study for “strong-handed” leadership that, the thinking went, could deliver benefits for ordinary Zimbabweans. Three decades later, Mugabe has driven Zimbabwe into abject poverty and misery.

Similar strongman arguments are made today in Russia’s case, where Vladimir Putin has pursued a “dictatorship of law” while putting in place the building blocks to remain paramount leader indefinitely. Putin choreographed a handoff of the presidency last year to Dmitry Medvedev, through which Putin, as prime minister, continues to wield enormous influence. There is widespread speculation that Putin may next return to the presidency. In the meantime, Russia’s governance leaves a great deal to be desired.

The refusal of these regimes to allow the emergence of authentic political alternatives and independent watchdogs means that official mismanagement goes unchecked.

At the same time, competing ideas that could help improve government policies and the lives of ordinary people are suppressed. Whatever stability exists in these settings all too often entails grinding poverty for most citizens and a dependence on the dubious management skills of aging autocrats.

Christopher Walker is director of studies at Freedom House.

International: British property developer claims police protection after Sydney murder

The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/09/mark-burby-police-protection-australia

British property developer claims police protection after Sydney murder

• Businessman fears he may be new target of killers

• Man shot dead had alleged political corruption

Buzz up!

Digg it

Peter Walker and Toni O'Loughlin in Sydney

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 September 2009 22.41 BST

Article history

A British property developer said tonight he has been placed under British police protection after fears that he could be targeted by the unknown killers who shot dead a Sydney businessman last week in a case that has gripped Australia.

Mark Burby's claims add fresh intrigue to a convoluted tale that already takes in the fabulously wealthy royal family of Brunei, alleged political corruption and a jewel-encrusted Qur'an supposedly obtained from a former KGB agent.

Burby, a Jersey-based entrepreneur, previously best known for winning a £50m legal case against a company owned by relatives of the Sultan of Brunei, said he had received threats from people whose identities he could not reveal, in phone calls and emails. Jersey police and Scotland Yard were treating the matter seriously and providing protection, he said.

Burby said he was worried because he had access to "delicate" information which had also been known to Michael McGurk, a Scottish-born property developer shot dead in front of his 10-year-old son last Thursday evening. McGurk had been embroiled in separate legal action against the Sultan of Brunei over a matchbox-sized Qu'ran in a jewelled case.

There is no suggestion that the Brunei royal family, who rule the tiny, oil-producing nation on the northern tip of Borneo in south-east Asia, played any role in the businessman's death or are linked to the threats against Burby.

McGurk, 48, who was alleged to have underworld connections and was facing charges relating to an alleged firebombing, was shot as he sat in his Mercedes in the drive of the family's mansion in Cremorne, north Sydney. He had told several people he had an audio tape that implicated New South Wales state ministers in corrupt land deals and someone was trying to kill him because of it.

Burby, 43, said he was convinced his connections to McGurk put him at risk, and that the UK police believed this was the case. "I have been receiving threats, and within them has been a definite inference that the same thing could happen to me as happened to Michael," he said. "I showed an email to the police and they have been fantastic, especially considering the information I gave them sounds like something out of a Tom Clancy novel. It took them less than 20 minutes, having seen some corroborating information, to realise this was a serious situation."

Both the Jersey police and Scotland Yard said they were unable to comment.

Burby's dispute with the Brunei royal family came after the sultan's cousin and sister-in-law promised to invest in a tea and coffee retail chain. Burby claimed the money failed to materialise, and won damages in 2005 of nearly £50m, which he has since sought unsuccessfully to recoup.

McGurk failed in his attempt to sue the Sultan of Brunei for allegedly reneging on the purchase of the tiny £5m Qur'an, which he said had been obtained from a former KGB agent and was to be a gift for the sultan's third wife. In Australia, the shock of McGurk's murder – for which police have yet to identify any suspects – has been compounded by the claims about political corruption.

The Labour premier of New South Wales, Nathan Rees, agreed to launch a parliamentary inquiry into allegations arising from the case that planning approval was improperly given to people associated with McGurk.

McGurk, who arrived in Australia in his early 20s, reportedly made a habit of learning "interesting things" about associates to use when deals soured. After his death it emerged that three months ago he had played his supposedly incriminating audio tape to a Labour former federal cabinet minister turned PR executive, Graham Richardson, concerning one of his clients

Although Richardson claimed the tape was inaudible at a crucial section, police have passed the matter to the independent commission against corruption.

Afghanistan:Afghan election officials 'corrupt'

The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/6168493/Afghan-election-officials-corrupt.html

Afghan election officials 'corrupt'

Afghan electoral officials are corrupt and working to keep Hamid Karzai in power, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential elections has said.

By Ben Farmer in Kabul

Published: 3:36PM BST 10 Sep 2009

Abdullah Abdullah said the Independent Election Commission (IEC) was helping to rig the ballot for the incumbent and such a fraudulent vote would lead to instability.

He outspoken remarks came as a United Nations-backed election complaints watchdog ordered results from 83 polling stations to be cast out because of vote rigging.

Preliminary results from the August 20 poll show it is a near mathematical certainty Hamid Karzai has crossed the 50 per cent threshold needed for first round victory, unless large numbers of his votes are annulled for fraud.

The Karzai-appointed IEC has been accused of failing to vet votes for blatant rigging.

Dr Abdullah said: "It's not independent at all. It's on President Karzai's side. It has been corrupt, and their malpractice is now widespread.

"It's not for the good of the country that somebody who commits massive fraud rules the country for five years," he told the BBC.

Mr Karzai has 54.1 per cent of votes counted and Dr Abdullah 28.3 per cent after nearly 92 per cent of polling stations were tallied.

Pre election polls suggested Mr Karzai was the favourite, but the scale of his lead has caused widespread suspicion.

Full preliminary results are expected on Saturday.

The scale of fraud and Dr Abdullah's uncompromising stance has alarmed the international community which sees a credible poll as key to making progress in Afghanistan.

The Electoral Complaints Commission is sifting through 2,800 complaints about rigging and issued its first orders to throw out results in Kandahar, Paktika and Ghazni provinces.

It has already called for recounts where suspiciously high numbers of voters turned out.

Opponents have complained intimidation, ballot-box stuffing and "ghost" polling stations have delivered huge numbers of votes for the president.

A US election monitoring group said "large numbers of polling stations" had more than 100 per cent turnout.

The National Democratic Institute said it would be "impossible to determine the will of the Afghan people," unless rigging complaints were investigated.

Burundi: Graft costs Burundi $30 mln in six months: NGO

Agence France-Presse

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hJKr7gyu9wOPwYnKqEl5xXqKpZ3w

Graft costs Burundi $30 mln in six months: NGO

(AFP) – 16 hours ago

BUJUMBURA — Graft has become a "way of life" affecting all levels of government in Burundi and cost the country 30 million dollars (21 million euros) in the first six months of the year, a corruption watchdog said.

"In the first half alone (we) registered 1,634 cases of corruption and fraud and some ... 30 million dollars of state money siphoned off," Gabriel Rufyiri, the head of anti-graft non-governmental organisation Olucome, said in a press conference late Wednesday at the launch of his group's six-monthly report.

"Unfortunately those in charge of government do nothing to recover this money; on the contrary one gets the impression that corruption has become a way of life affecting all levels of government," Rufyiri said.

He gave the example of sugar imports, complaining that out of 5,920 tonnes of sugar imported in the first half, only 706 tonnes were recorded in customs documents "and no customs officials were investigated".

"We know who is guilty of fraud and we don't investigate them. I get the impression the fraud gets the blessing of the very people who are supposed to fight it," Rufyiri said.

He gave the example of the director of the state-owned real estate company and the finance ministry spokesman, sentenced respectively to 26 and 10 years in prison in January, but who are still in their jobs.

Rufyiri's deputy Ernest Manirumva was stabbed to death in April by unknown attackers who carried off some documents.

Olucome had revealed several cases of large-scale fraud ranging from the illegal sale of a presidential plane in 2006, overbilling of petroleum products that led to the firing of one finance minister, the flight into exile of a second one and the jailing of the head of the central bank.

Burundi's finances have been ruined by 13 years of civil war; some 70 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Taiwan: Taiwan's Chen awaits verdict in corruption trial

Associated Press

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hA1Z8MlHPhdXAe2_2z7zBBZhV99QD9AK7L882

Taiwan's Chen awaits verdict in corruption trial

By PETER ENAV (AP) – 21 hours ago

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A Taiwan court will decide Friday if former President Chen Shui-bian is guilty of corruption, in a trial widely seen as a key test of the island's young democracy.

Chen, 58, is accused of embezzling $3.15 million during his 2000-2008 presidency from a special presidential fund, receiving bribes worth at least $9 million in connection with a government land deal, laundering some of the money through Swiss bank accounts, and forging documents.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Chen has pleaded not guilty and claims he is being persecuted for his anti-China views by successor Ma Ying-jeou, a strong advocate of improved ties with Beijing.

Chen's legal travails have galvanized this island of 23 million people, which held its first direct presidential election in 1996, less than a decade after it began dismantling four-decades of strict, one-party rule.

Most Taiwanese are convinced Chen is guilty of at least some of the charges against him, though some of his supporters believe his political views have played a role in his prosecution and that he has been unfairly confined to jail during his trial.

Critics point to a decision to change the three-judge Taipei District Court panel trying Chen after it originally freed him on his own recognizance following his indictment last December. The new judges accepted the prosecutors' argument that he constituted a flight risk, and that if freed, he could collude with alleged co-conspirators.

Political scientist Hsu Yung-ming of Taipei's Soochow University said there were elements of retribution in Chen's treatment.

"Chen's case will serve as a warning for Ma and future leaders so that they may refrain from walking in his footsteps," he said. "At the same time, many question whether Chen is being punished because of political clash between him and the current administration."

Chen, Taiwan's first non-Nationalist Party leader since Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island after losing the Chinese civil war to Mao Zedong's Communists in 1949, rode to power in 2000 on a promise to clean up decades of Nationalist corruption and to deepen Taiwan's de facto independence.

But he quickly fell afoul of the Nationalists' majority in the legislature and his alleged tendency to play fast and loose with accepted procedures, including his lax management of a special presidential fund, meant to promote Taiwan's overseas interests.

Complicating matters was China's outright hostility, based on Chen's pro-independence views, and his tense relations with the United States, Taiwan's most important foreign partner.

Washington saw Chen's support for independence as raising the possibility of a war with Beijing, and pressured him to desist — with only limited success.

Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen, their son and several associates are standing trial with him.

Last week Wu was convicted on perjury charges and sentenced to a year in prison. She remains free on her own recognizance.


Turkey: Turkish media group Dogan shares rebound on deal hopes

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSTRE5891S620090910

Turkish media group Dogan shares rebound on deal hopes

Thu Sep 10, 2009 4:59am EDT

By Paul de Bendern

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Shares in Turkey's top media group Dogan, locked in a long-running feud with the government, rebounded on Thursday after losing more than a third in value in the past two days due to a record $2.51 billion tax fine.

Critics of the government say Dogan Yayin is being unfairly punished because of its often harsh coverage of the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, particularly over corruption allegations earlier this year. The government denies this.

The Finance Ministry fined Dogan Yayin 3.76 billion lira this week for unpaid taxes and penalties in what is the largest ever fine for a Turkish company.

Shares in Dogan Yayin, which owns top-selling newspaper Hurriyet (HURGZ.IS) and co-owns with Time Warner (TWX.N) broadcaster CNN Turk, rose 8.5 percent on Thursday after losses of 36 percent in the past two days.

Analysts said upbeat comments on Wednesday about the possibility of negotiating a settlement between the Finance Ministry and Dogan Yayin were encouraging investors.

It was the second major fine this year for Dogan Yayin, which controls more than half of the non-state media market and has been at odds in recent years with Erdogan over its coverage of the Islamist-rooted government.

Earlier this year Erdogan called on ruling AK Party members to boycott Dogan newspapers because of their coverage of the government.

International press groups have criticized the frequent statements by the prime minister against Dogan. The European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, has also raised concern.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party on Wednesday accused the government of using the Finance Ministry's tax authority to punish a media group critical of the AK Party.

The government rejects the accusations, saying the Finance Ministry's tax authority is autonomous.

The fine roughly equals the $2.7 billion combined market value of the firm and its parent company, Dogan Holding (DOHOL.IS), raising concerns about the impact on the group's finances.

Senior government sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Dogan Yayin would need to raise collateral during the process.

"The stock was sold heavily yesterday. It opened with strong buying. It is very hard to reach a verdict. The collateral issue will be observed very closely, and the volatility in the stock may continue," said Tuncay Tursucu, head of research at Meksa Investment in Istanbul.

(Additional reporting by Birsen Altayli; Editing by Hans Peters)

USA: Records: Martinez aide intervened in dispute between Pentagon, GOP fundraiser

The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/1218572.html

Records: Martinez aide intervened in dispute between Pentagon, GOP fundraiser

Records show that an aide to Sen. Mel Martinez urged the Pentagon to come to a `fair resolution' in its contract dispute with an oil company owned by GOP fundraiser Harry Sargeant III.

Related Content

BY SCOTT HIAASEN

shiaasen@MiamiHerald.com

Sen. Mel Martinez's office repeatedly intervened in a 2007 legal dispute between the Defense Department and a company owned by a top Republican fundraiser who is now at the center of a campaign-finance investigation, according to records obtained by The Miami Herald.

In a series of phone calls and e-mails, a Martinez aide urged Pentagon contract officers to seek a ``fair resolution'' to $14 million in contract claims sought by the International Oil Trading Co., a fuel-supply company co-owned by Harry Sargeant III of Boca Raton.

At one point, Pentagon officials told the senator's office it was ``not appropriate'' to discuss any settlements while the company's lawsuit was pending in court, records show.

As Martinez's staffer was lobbying the Pentagon, Sargeant and his wife donated $50,000 to the Republican National Committee -- then headed by Martinez. At the time, Sargeant was the finance chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.

Martinez, who will step down from his Senate seat next week, did not respond to several interview requests made through his press secretary.

In the past, he has said the RNC donations were unrelated to Sargeant's contract dispute.

Sargeant's company ultimately received $3.2 million from the Defense Department -- settling claims the Pentagon had initially denied entirely. The Pentagon says Martinez played no role in the settlement.

EMPLOYEE INDICTED

Sargeant gained notoriety last year as a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, whose campaign returned $50,000 in suspicious donations solicited by a Sargeant business partner. In February, an employee of a Sargeant company was indicted on federal charges of funneling illegal contributions to several candidates, including McCain and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist -- a college buddy of Sargeant's.

The employee, Ala'a al-Ali, is accused of using straw donors in California to steer about $55,000 in illegal contributions to candidates.

Ali, who worked for a Sargeant shipping company in the Dominican Republic, later repaid the donors, avoiding contribution limits, the indictment says.

A month before the indictment, Sargeant stepped down from his role with the Florida GOP. He did not respond to requests for comment.

Sargeant first sought help from Martinez -- a member of the Armed Services Committee -- in 2006, dispatching lobbyist and former Bush administration official Otto Reich to the senator's office after the Defense Department initially denied IOTC's claims for alleged contract violations.

IOTC is one of the top fuel suppliers to American forces in Iraq, earning more than $1.4 billion, records show. Following a congressional inquiry last year, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., accused Sargeant's company of ``war profiteering'' and asked the Pentagon to investigate IOTC's contracts.

In an interview with The Miami Herald last year, Martinez said he offered only ``routine'' assistance to Sargeant's company. He said his office helped IOTC obtain information, but he did not try to sway the Pentagon's stance in the case.

``I do this for hundreds of people throughout the state of Florida,'' Martinez said last year.

But the e-mails -- obtained through a request under the Freedom of Information Act -- indicate that Martinez's office was more actively involved in the contract dispute than the senator has publicly acknowledged.

In a May 3, 2007, e-mail to a Pentagon official, Martinez aide John Goetchius said the senator ``wants to raise the level of attention in hope of expediting a fair resolution of these claims.''

A month earlier, Sargeant's company had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, seeking $10.1 million for contract violations -- claims the Pentagon had previously denied.

In another e-mail, dated April 19, 2007, Goetchius -- an expert on military and foreign affairs -- asked how the company's claims could be settled quickly. ``Is there precedent for doing a batch resolution and rounding the numbers up or down and saving time?'' he asked.

Goetchius also transmitted questions from IOTC to the Pentagon, and parroted the company's legal arguments, the records show.

``IOTC still wants to avoid costly, time-consuming litigation,'' the senator's aide wrote in one message to the Pentagon. ``If IOTC had known what to expect, IOTC would have considered bidding at a higher price.''

CAUTIOUS RESPONSE

Contract officers at the Defense Department responded carefully to Goetchius' queries. On two occasions, Pentagon aides refused to discuss details or a potential settlement with Martinez's aide, saying it was ``not appropriate'' to do so while IOTC's claims were pending in court, the e-mail records show.

``I just spoke to John Goetchius,'' one Pentagon staffer wrote to a colleague. ``He wants to avoid the perception of undue influence, but would like to sent [sic] the message that the parties should consider a settlement resolution.''

In September 2007, the Pentagon agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle two of IOTC's contract claims. The Pentagon agreed to the deal after IOTC provided more information to back up its damages claims, said Dennis Gauci, a Defense Department spokesman.

``It is not unusual for members of Congress or their staffs to inquire about issues involving their constituents,'' Gauci said. ``However, neither Senator Martinez nor any member of his staff was ever involved in the resolution process or settlement.''

IOTC also made a third claim demanding $3.8 million to cover the costs of fuel trucks destroyed or abandoned in combat. A military appeals board ruled last year that the Pentagon was not responsible for those losses. IOTC has not taken that claim to court.

Sargeant's company won two more Pentagon fuel contracts, earning a combined profit of $210 million through last year -- and drawing the scrutiny of congressional investigators, who concluded the company charged unreasonably high prices.

The company deploys a fleet of about 300 tankers shipping oil and fuel from Saudia Arabia to Jordan, where the fuel is trucked by convoy to Iraq. IOTC and a subsidiary won approval from the Jordanian government to ship across that country -- a specific requirement of the U.S. military.

Because of the company's agreement with Jordan, the Defense Department awarded the lucrative shipping contracts to IOTC even though its bid prices were more than 30 percent higher than its competitors' prices, congressional investigators found.

A rival contractor filed a federal lawsuit last year accusing IOTC of racketeering, saying the company made payoffs to the Jordanian government to effectively shut out competitors.

In court papers, lawyers for IOTC have called its competitor's claims ``slanderous,'' and said the lawsuit ``mischaracterizes legitimate payments made to the Jordanian government as bribes.''

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