US consultant admits role in Karachi affair: paper

PARIS: An American political consultant has admitted being paid by an intermediary in 1994 arms sales for advising the campaign of French presidential hopeful Edouard Balladur, a French newspaper reported on Saturday.
Paul Manafort, who worked for Republican presidential campaigns of the 1980s, also told investigators he had met officials in Mr Balladurs unsuccessful 1995 presidential campaign, Daily Liberation said.French investigators suspect a web of corruption behind the sale of sub-marines from France to Pakistan, with illegal funds going to the Balladur campaign in a scandal known as the Karachi affair.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who was a cabinet minister and then prime minister Balladurs spokesman at the time, is linked to the affair.

Mr Manafort, who was questioned in the US state of Virginia according to Liberation, admitted being paid by Abdul Rahman al Assir, one of two intermediaries along with businessman Ziad Takieddine, brought in at the last minute to sign arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Mr Takieddine admitted in June carrying briefcases stuffed with cash from Switzerland destined for the Balladur campaign, while his wife said Mr Manafort was a close friend of Mr Assirs.

In this regard, Ziad told me Paul Manafort was advising the Balladur presidential campaign, she reportedly told police.

Mr Manafort confirmed her statements but said he was spurned by the Balladur campaign, while the former prime minister146s associates have repeatedly denied meeting him.

Investigators say Mr Manafort, his public relations company or his associates received a total of at least $200,000 between September 1994 and August 1995.

Three more transfers from an account of Mr Assirs in Madrid to an account of Mr Manaforts from October 2000 and June 2001 totalling more than $140,000 were later discovered.151AFP