Scomi Business Associates Arrested in Tokyo for Nuclear Weapon Component
Contributed by Anonymous on Friday, September 01 @ 02:25:07 MYT
Topic: MEDIA
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5 Japanese arrested in atom case By Martin Fackler (taken from) The New York Times
August 25, 2006
TOKYO Five executives of a precision instruments maker were arrested Friday on suspicion of illegally exporting equipment to Malaysia that could be used in making nuclear weapons.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested the president and four other executives of Mitutoyo for allegedly exporting advanced measuring devices without government permission in late 2001 to an unspecified recipient in Malaysia a police spokesman said.
The police said Mitutoyo's president, Kazusaku Tezuka, and the other four were arrested on suspicion of violating foreign trade control laws.
While the police provided few details, reports in the Japanese news media said the devices were sold to Scomi Precision Engineering, a company that was part of the network used by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani nuclear scientist, to transfer nuclear technology to Libya
The police are reportedly trying to determine whether Mitutoyo's devices were used by Scomi to manufacture centrifuge parts that were sold to Libya to enrich uranium for its nuclear weapons program, which was discontinued three years ago.
Scomi figured prominently in a 2004 investigation into the supply of advanced centrifuge technology to Libya.
In 2003, containers full of centrifuge parts made by Scomi were intercepted en route to Libya, a discovery that led to the uncovering of Khan's role in Libya's attempts to build nuclear weapons.
Scomi Precision's parent, the Scomi Group, was principally owned by Kaspadu, a holding company linked to a Sri Lankan businessman, B.S.A. Tahir, now in custody in Malaysia. Tahir has been accused of helping Khan to distribute controlled nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
The Malaysian police later cleared Scomi of wrongdoing. The company said it did not know the parts were bound for Libya, but instead believed they would be used in oil and gas production in Dubai.
Reports Friday by the Kyodo news agency and most major Japanese newspapers said that at least one of Mitutoyo's devices had been shipped to Libya via Dubai on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship. The reports said the police were also investigating whether additional measuring devices were sent to Iran through an unnamed Iranian trading company based in Tokyo.
Iran faces possible UN sanctions if it fails to end its uranium enrichment by Aug. 31. Iran says the enrichment is for peaceful purposes, but the United States and other nations fear it could be used to build nuclear weapons.
The news reports appeared to be based on briefings that government officials here frequently give to large local media organizations. An employee at Mitutoyo's headquarters refused to comment beyond confirming the arrests.
The Tokyo police said that Mitutoyo allegedly exported two of the devices, known as coordinate measuring machines, to Malaysia in October and November 2001. The machines were sent by ship to Singapore, and then transported over land to Malaysia.
The sophisticated machines, normally used in the precision manufacture of parts for commercial products like automobiles, can also be used in making the centrifuges that enrich uranium for weapons production. Because of this potential use, the devices cannot be exported without government permission.
Mitutoyo is one of the world's largest makers of the most advanced types of coordinate measuring devices.
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