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Countries, Companies Deny Roles in International Nuclear Black Market
Countries and companies identified as having been involved in an October incident involving the shipment of nuclear equipment to Libya have begun issuing denials of any involvement, according to reports today (see GSN, Feb. 12). In a nuclear nonproliferation speech this week, U.S. President George W. Bush identified Sri Lankan B.S.A. Tahir as a key middleman in the international nuclear network. Tahir has been accused of using his computer company, based in the United Arab Emirates, to order uranium enrichment centrifuge components from a Malaysian company — centrifuges that were later intercepted en route to Libya. While Malaysian police are investigating Tahir, there are currently no plans to arrest him, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday. “He is on his feet and free to move around,” Abdullah said. Abdullah also accused Bush of exaggerating Malaysia’s role in the nuclear proliferation network. “There is no such thing as Malaysia’s involvement,” Abdullah said. “We are not involved in any way. I don’t know where Bush is getting his evidence from,” he added (Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb. 12). In his speech, Bush identified SMB Computer as the company used by Tahir in the United Arab Emirates as a front for proliferation. The company’s owner, Seyed Ibrahim Bukhary, though, has denied that his company engaged in nuclear proliferation, saying it was only involved in legal computer sales. Bukhary, who is Tahir’s younger brother, also said his brother had no ownership in the company and was not involved in its management (Raymond Bonner, New York Times, Feb. 13). Meanwhile, British and French intelligence agents seized computers in June from the home of a British businessman suspected of being another important middleman in the international nuclear network, the London Guardian reported today. Authorities suspect the involvement of Peter Griffin and his son Paul in the international nuclear black market because of the role played by their United Arab Emirates-based company Gulf Technical Industries in the intercepted shipment of centrifuge components to Libya, according to the Guardian. Paul Griffin has denied any involvement in nuclear proliferation activities and said investigators should focus more on Malaysia’s role in the incident (London Guardian, Feb. 13).
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