A former Brazilian finance minister, Antonio Palocci, claims that the issue of hidden payments was discussed during a meeting held between the French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the evening of September 6th, 2009. An investigation into the sale of French Scorpène submarines to Brazil and the construction of a naval base at Itaguaí in the South American country has revealed the existence of up to 70 million euros in commissions paid by the Brazilian partner company of the French naval defence firm Naval Group. Karl Laske investigates.
It was on June 26th this year that Nicolas Sarkozy made his entry into an ongoing Brazilian judicial investigation. It was a discreet entry, with Antonio Palocci, the former Brazilian finance minister and one-time right-hand man of ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, delivering an enigmatic phrase while being questioned by Brazilian judges. But it dropped like a bombshell.
