Mitterrand's son held for illegal arms trade

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS, DEC. 22. Mr. Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, son of France's former socialist President, the late Francois Mitterrand, has been arrested in Paris for involvement in ``illegal arms trade''. Judges investigating the case found that he had received $ 1.8 millions from a well-known arms dealer, Mr. Pierre Falcone.

Mr. Jean-Christophe, the elder of the late President's two sons, served as his father's special adviser on Africa during the latter's 14-year stint as head of state. The arrest warrant issued against Mr. Jean-Christophe says he has been charged with ``involvement in illegal arms traffic, corruption linked to the misuse of his official position and fraud''. The best-selling novelist, Mr. Paul-Loup Sulitzer, who was also arrested in connection with the same case, has now been freed on bail. He has been accused of corruption and money laundering.

Several well-known personalities are involved in this latest financial scandal to rock France. Besides Mr. Jean- Christophe and Mr. Sulitzer, they include the writer and philosopher, Mr. Jacques Attali, who was President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the former Interior Minister, Mr. Charles Pasqua, whose homes have been searched.

Police have been looking at these cases for a long time and Mr. Jean-Christophe's name first appeared on their files last September when they raided the house of Mr. Pierre Falcone and his secretary. Mr. Falcone heads a company called Brenco International suspected to be at the centre of a huge illegal arms network.

Mr. Jean-Christophe was his father's ``adviser for African Affairs and Madagascar'' from 1986 to 1992, during the period when Brenco International was awarded several huge contracts for arms sales to Africa.

Examination of computer files seized from Brenco International and Mr. Pierre Falcone revealed that at least four separate payments had been made into a numbered account at the Darier Bank in Geneva, Switzerland and whose beneficiary was Mr. Jean- Christophe.

In reports published today, the influential Paris daily Le Monde has revealed that Mr Jean- Christophe told interrogators that $ 700,000 of the $ 1.8 millions deposited in the account belonged to him personally, while the remainder had been paid by Brenco for ``services rendered''.

He is reported to have told the police that he gave Mr. Falcone advice on how Angola could obtain money from the international community by using its oil production as collateral.

Police want to know how Mr Jean-Christophe, who was known as ``Daddy's Boy'' and ``the Elysee Palace's Mr Africa'', helped Brenco International obtain contracts for the sale of Russian military hardware to Angola.

Mr. Falcone and his associates are said to have made a killing worth $ 47 millions out of those sales valued at $ 463 million.

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Section  : International
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