The deportation of fugitive French businessman Alfred Sirven from the Philippines throws a twist into the trial of Mr. Roland Dumas, the former French foreign minister and head of the Constitutional Court. Mr. Sirven is alleged to be the missing link in the scheme to use funds from Elf-Aquitaine, the former state oil company, to buy influence. The taint may even reach French President Jacques Chirac. By some accounts, the entire French political order is on trial.
While the French investigation is perhaps the most engrossing political scandal of the moment, it is not the only affair making headlines. Mr. Sirven has questions to answer about channeling funds to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In Japan, the Diet is occupied with the attempts of KSD, a mutual aid society, to buy influence with leading politicians. Money politics, it seems, is a constant the world over.
The Dumas trial is a colorful affair. He is charged with receiving funds and gifts from Elf in exchange for his approval of the sale of six naval frigates to Taiwan. Although Mr. Dumas has denied the charges, he did approve the sale in 1991, even though he had previously maintained that the sale would damage relations with China.