Ari Ben-Menashe

[Magda Hassan]

Unit 5/108 Days Road
Grange 4051
Queensland
11th July 2001
Ms Bev Forbes
Secretary
Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Ms Forbes
Submission to the Electoral Funding and Disclosure Inquiry
I refer to your advertisement inviting submissions to the Inquiry into the Electoral
Funding of Political Parties, with a closing date of 3rd August 2001.
This submission outlines information relating to allegations of major impropriety
involving electoral funding and disclosure. The key allegation is that in 1987 a US$6
million donation was made to the Labor Party by a company controlled by the CIA.
The donation allegedly was in return for the use of Australian soil to illegally transfer
arms from the US to Iran as part of what became known as the Iran-Contra Affair'.
I believe that there is adequate evidence to warrant close scrutiny of whether this
donation was made and what the circumstances surrounding it were. If such a large
foreign donation can be made for allegedly corrupt purposes and remain undisclosed
and undetected, then this exposes a major defect in Australia's political donations
disclosure laws and their enforcement.
In short, the Australian Government at that time is alleged to have assisted the US
Government in actions that were found to be illegal in the USA, and a payoff for that
assistance allegedly went to the political party that then formed government. If the
donation was an inducement or a reward for the Government's complicity in illegal
arms trading, then serious questions arise as to the adequacy of the auditing regime
governing political donations.
Ari Ben-Menashe
These allegations originated from claims made by Ari Ben-Menashe. Ben-Menashe is
a former Israeli military intelligence officer. I have flown to Canada to interview Mr
Ben-Menashe on behalf of my newspaper and have several tapes recording his
allegations. He remains available to discuss his experiences. In his book Profits of
War (see Appendices), he claims:
"In February 1987 a "contribution" was made to the West Australian Labor Party by
our US counterparts in the CIA. In gratitude for the use of Australian soil for the
transfer of arms to Iran, Richard Babayan, a contract operative for the CIA, received a
cheque for $6 million US from Earl Brian, who was acting on behalf of Hadron1, a
CIA "cut-out". Babayan travelled to Perth and stayed at the home of Yosef Goldberg,
an Australian businessman of Israeli origin who was well connected to Israeli
intelligence and to the local Labor Party headed by Brian Burke, then premier of
Western Australia. Babayan handed the cheque to Goldberg, who in turn gave it to
Alan Bond in his role as the guardian of the John Curtin Foundation funds. This
money was passed on by one of Robert Maxwell's companies in Australia to be held
by the Pergamon Press Trust Fund in Moscow. Babayan later corroborated the details
of this operation in a sworn affidavit."
The publishers of Ben-Menashe's book have confirmed that they hold an affidavit
from Babyan supporting Ben-Menashe's account of his role in the making of the
donation.
In my taped interview with Ben-Menashe he elaborates on the detail of these events.
He is adamant that senior members of the ALP at that time knew about this payment.
He claims that Prime Minister Hawke was aware of it, but was at pains to say that
Treasurer Keating did not. No mention was made about whether or not the Minister
for Defence, Mr Beazley, knew of the payment.
Ben-Menashe also suggests that a bribe was involved.
It is a fact that arms were transferred through concealed routes from the USA to Iran.
As a close ally of the USA, it is quite plausible that Australia was part of one of those
routes. Ben-Menashe claims that payoffs and bribes were a routine part of these
illegal arms deals throughout the world, and in that respect there was nothing unique
about the payment to the Labor Party.
US$ 6 million from the CIA to the ALP
Hadron Inc is a US company with ties to the CIA.
Hadron Inc's Earl Brian gives $6 million cheque to Richard Babayan, a
contract operative for the CIA.
Babayan gives cheque to Yosef Goldberg, an Australian businessman of
Israeli origin well connected to Israeli intelligence and the ALP.
Goldberg gives cheque to Alan Bond in his capacity as guardian of the ALP's
John Curtin Foundation fund-raising entity.
1 Hadron Inc. is a US company
The Credibility of Ari Ben-Menashe
Given the seriousness of Ben-Menashe's allegations, it would be in the interests of
those affected to attack his credibility. Many claim that he was simply a low-level
translator.
Attached to this submission are four letters of reference regarding Ben-Menashe from
officials in the Israel Defence Forces, including Colonel Arieh Shur, then Chief of
External Relations. These letters confirm that Ben-Menashe occupied key positions'
in the Israel Defence Forces External Relations Department.
When Ben-Menashe applied for asylum in Australia, the Department of Immigration,
Local Government and Ethnic Affairs ("DILGEA") was provided with an affidavit,
sworn before a US attorney on May 24 1991, which detailed his intelligence record.
Ben-Menashe was subpoenaed by the US Congress to give evidence against CIA
Director Bush and President Reagan over the Iran Contra affair. I have spoken to the
Special Prosecutor who took Ben-Menashe's claims very seriously. More recently
Ben-Menashe has given evidence to the United Kingdom Parliament.
I spent some time with Ben-Menashe and taped several interviews with him. He has
detailed knowledge regarding the illegal shipment of arms to Iran. In many cases I
have independently obtained information that is consistent with information he has
provided. It leads me to the conclusion he is both truthful and credible.
Further Lines of Inquiry
As a starting point, there are several people from whom the Committee may wish to
seek further information.
Ari Ben Menashe is still available and willing to talk to an inquiry.
Andrew Palmer and Chris Rowe, lawyers in Perth, were investigators for the WA
Royal Commission into the Commercial Activities of Government and Other Matters
and may be able to offer some assistance. They interviewed Ben-Menashe and
undertook some preliminary investigations but were later instructed that the matter
was not within their terms of reference and were ordered to discontinue the line of
inquiry. Documents obtained under FOI show that DILGEA was aware of Ben-
Menashe's desire to appear before the Royal Commission. He was forced to leave the
country before he was able to do so. I would be happy to elaborate on the
questionable circumstances surrounding his removal if the Committee so desires.
The investigators prepared a report for the WA Department of Public Prosecutions, in
which Ben-Menashe was mentioned. It is suggested that the Committee request the
West Australian Director of Public Prosecutions to provide this document (or
relevant extracts) to the Committee.
The Committee may also seek further information from those allegedly involved in
the making of the donation:
Richard Babayan, the CIA operative (now living in Paris), has already sworn an
affidavit supporting Ben-Menashe's account and confirming his own role in making
the donation.
Yosef Goldberg (believed to be in Sydney), Earl Brian (in jail for fraud) and
Alan Bond (now in London) were also alleged to be involved in the transaction.
Ben-Menashe also claims that Bob Hawke knew of the donation.
Darryn Jenkins was at the time the Collector of Customs for WA.
He was interviewed as part of the attached Sydney Morning Herald article and
conceded it would be possible for arms to be brought into Western Australia under a
false description. I have located Mr Jenkins in Zambia, but he is reluctant to discuss
anything to do with alleged arms shipments through Western Australia.
Finally, I have considerable information relating to this affair and would be happy to
assist the Committee in any way possible.
The allegations outlined in this submission are of the most serious nature. It is alleged
that a major political party accepted a very considerable sum of money either in return
for or in appreciation of the participation by the Australian Government in illegal
arms trading.
If true these allegations demonstrate the need to ensure that an effective accountability
regime is in place regarding political donations, particularly those from foreign
shores. The Parliament must ensure that no organisation or foreign government can
influence our government's policies by corrupting our political parties.
Yours sincerely
Marshall Wilson
http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&...rTcI45NeGQ