DATE=8/23/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SWISS SCANDAL (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-253044
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Switzerland's main political parties are
urging a government investigation into a widening
scandal involving the army's secret service. Lisa
Schlein in Geneva reports the affair involves alleged
fraud of millions of dollars, the illegal sale of arms
and links to organized crime.
TEXT: Switzerland's main political parties are
calling for a parliamentary inquiry to find the truth
behind a scandal that has all the elements of a spy
thriller.
The country's Defense Minister, Adolf Ogi, says an
investigation is already underway, examining possible
links to organized crime and illegal arms trafficking.
So far, the Chief of the Secret Service has been
suspended and the man at the center of the scandal,
Dino Bellasi, is behind bars. Mr. Bellasi, a former
Defense Ministry Official who acted as senior
accountant for military intelligence, was arrested
more than a week ago. He is suspected of having used
forged invoices to get an advance from Switzerland's
central bank of nearly six million dollars. The money
was supposed to have gone to pay for troop movements
that did not take place.
Switzerland's Attorney General is also looking into
accusations that the country's intelligence service
has been smuggling and selling arms to criminal
organizations. The head of the intelligence service
and various members within the defense ministry are
accused of trying to create a secret army. A large
secret cache of arms was discovered near the capital
Bern.
A Swiss newspaper alleges that Mr. Bellasi was in
contact with former agents of the Israeli, American
and German secret services. Meanwhile, Switzerland's
Attorney General's Office says it is widening its
probe and is investigating others possibly involved in
the scandal or who may shed additional light on it.
(Signed)
NEB/LS/PCF/KL
23-Aug-1999 13:12 PM EDT (23-Aug-1999 1712 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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