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French Elite on Trial

The Sordid Tale of 'Angolagate'

By Stefan Simons in Paris

Part 2: The Deal of the Century

The order from Angola, or so the prosecution claims, developed into the deal of the century for Falcone and Gaydamak. There was only one snag. It had to be handled tactfully, while circumventing French authorities. To that end, the two men are alleged to have established a front company in Eastern Europe in 1993, which soon turned into a hub for the shipment of arms and military equipment. The contracts and financial transactions, on the other hand, were handled through the offices of Falcone's Paris-based company, Brenco.

It became a flourishing business. The first "emergency delivery" included 30 T-62 tanks, 40 armored personnel carriers, submachine guns, flamethrowers, flak, grenades and ammunition. The next order reads like a catalog of conventional military equipment: 400 tanks and troop carriers, 1,190 trucks, 12 helicopters and 60 ambulances. It also included an assortment of six warships, pontoon bridges and amphibious vehicles.

Special-request items like night-vision devices and bulletproof vests completed the order. A later order consisted of 170,000 anti-personnel mines, an arsenal that vastly increased the number of victims in the Angolan war, in which 500,000 people died between 1975 and 2002. Falcone's shipments enabled Dos Santos to deal a decisive defeat to UNITA.

In his mansion on Avenue Kleber in the 16th arrondissement, Falcone apparently took discreet steps to ensure that his back was covered within the political establishment. In a feudal atmosphere, his employees are said to have handled transfers of funds to inconspicuous foreign bank accounts. Hostesses saw to his business associates' needs while envelopes were being filled with cash in the basement. Sometimes the sums were so large that supermarket bags were needed to hold the money.

Each transaction was carefully recorded and saved as a memo by Falcone's secretary. The data eventually filled 26 floppy disks, which authorities later seized during a search of the premises. It apparently supports the following charges:

* that Jean-Christophe Mitterrand received 14 million francs, paid into Swiss bank accounts, for setting up the deals, in addition to various other perks, including airline tickets, a vacation in Bali or a visit to Falcone's home in Phoenix;

* that former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua and his confidant, the former French prefect Jean-Charles Marchiani, received $450,000 (€328,000) from Brenco to support Pasqua's European election campaign, in return for providing the necessary diplomatic cover;

* that Jacques Attali, a former advisor to Mitterand, approached then Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine concerning a tax investigation into Falcone's Eastern European company, for which he was later rewarded with a $200,000 (€150,000) fee paid by one of Falcone's companies.

According to the indictment, the Angolan friends of Falcone and Gaydamak also pocketed their share of the spoils from the lucrative arms deals. Dos Santos and at least two dozen government officials are alleged to have received lavish kickbacks and commissions, which the bill of indictment lists as "cash, hotel expenses, vacation and hospital costs," as well as "various gifts." All told, ambassadors, ministers, nine senior military officials and heads of import companies are said to have raked in a grand total of $56 million (€41 million) between 1993 and 2000.

Signs of Appreciation

Dos Santos is alleged to have been paid his money through an account in Panama set up in the name of his daughter Isabel. He also received numerous perks, including stays at the luxury Le Bristol hotel in Paris, travel in private jets, an armored limousine and a few Mercedes. A yacht excursion off the coast of Naples was another of Falcone's tokens of appreciation. According to the prosecution, the five-day cruise cost $115,000 (€84,000).

The politicians, for their part, were apparently happy to return the favors. Gaydamak was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre National de Mérite, France's second-highest decoration, allegedly for his assistance in securing the release of hostages. In the same month, a group called France-Afrique-Orient, which was affiliated with Pasqua's political movement, received a donation of more than 1.5 million francs from Falcone's company, Brenco. The Angolan president, Dos Santos, also showed his appreciation when, in 2003, he made Falcone his country’s ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) -- diplomatic passport included.

The UNESCO post and diplomatic passport, intended as a way of helping Falcone evade the law, came too late. An investigation by tax authorities had already exposed the lucrative business, and the judiciary had already made its move in 2000. Falcone and Mitterrand junior spent a period of time in detention. Gaydamak left the country for Israel where, thanks to his Israeli citizenship, he is safe against extradition, despite international warrants for his arrest.

After returning to the Holy Land, Gaydamak distinguished himself as a patron of the poor and the religious. A billionaire, he pays for vacations on the Red Sea for Israeli rocket attack victims and paid for a new hospital for Orthodox Jews. In addition, he seems to share the passion among newly rich Russians for buying football teams. Gaydamak owns the Beitar Jerusalem club.