Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., November 01, 2009 Cheshvan 14, 5770 | | Israel Time: 01:18 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Gaydamak worked for French intel, former minister says
By Yossi Melman

Recently convicted Israeli-Russian-French businessman Arcadi Gaydamak was formerly an agent for the French domestic intelligence agency DST, former French interior minister Charles Pasqua told the daily Le Figaro yesterday.

Gaydamak was sentenced to six years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros for gunrunning in Angola. Pasqua was convicted in the same trial, for taking bribes from Gaydamak and his business partner, Pierre Falcone. As interior minister, Pasqua was in charge of domestic intelligence and a governmental arms trade agency.
Advertisement

Gaydamak had previously told Haaretz that he cooperated with the French government, helping to rescue two French pilots captured in the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, as well as two French intelligence officers captured by rebel factions in the Caucasus.

Gaydamak told Haaretz he won citations from the French government for those efforts, but the operations were so secret the citations spoke of his contribution to "agriculture" instead. He also said he was the victim of a power struggle between the DST and another intelligence agency.

Pasqua said in the interview that then-president Jacques Chirac knew of Gaydamak's contributions and personally authorized the citations.

The indictment against Gaydamak stated that the French authorities had also suspected him of working for Russian intelligence.

Israel's security services at one time considered soliciting Gaydamak's assistance in purchasing strategically important materiel in the former Soviet, but eventually decided against using him.

Apart from Gaydamak, 41 people, including former senior French officials and other public figures, were convicted in the gunrunning case.
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Migrant workers row
Interior Min. Yishai warns that migrant workers will bring diseases to Israel
Letter to a killer
A mother's forgiveness leaves her son's killer cold
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
23:46 In Jerusalem, Clinton hails 'unprecedented' Israeli settlement concessions
16:38 Barak: Impasse in peace talks only helps Hamas
20:10 Turkey PM: If you don't want Iran to have nukes, give yours up
19:22 Deputy PM confirms: Israel is gathering intel inside Lebanon
18:55 Israeli Arabs accuse Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' in Jerusalem
15:11 Yemen Jews smuggled to U.S. amid rising inter-faith tensions
15:13 Forgiveness of dead IDF soldier's mother leaves Palestinian killer cold
00:25 TV ROUND-UP: Clinton visits Israel; Tourist drowns due to stormy weather
21:45 Yishai: Migrant workers will bring diseases to Israel
18:16 Heavy rain hits Israel as winter finally arrives
13:44 Ahmadinejad: Israel unhappy with Iran nuclear negotiations
15:40 Report: Lebanon nabs top militant over rocket attack against Israel
22:24 'Iran should be confronted on human rights, not nukes'
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved