Dozens to be tried in arms scandal
A French judge has ordered 42 people, including a son of late President Francois Mitterrand, to stand trial over a $790-million scandal involving arms sales to Angola, judicial officials said.
Arms traders Pierre Falcone, a Frenchman, and Israeli national Arkady Gaydamak are accused of paying a network of political contacts to favor their activities in the African country. Both will be tried in absentia; both deny wrongdoing.
Falcone is accused of selling arms to Angola in 1993 and 1994. His contacts, including Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, former presidential advisor Jacques Attali and former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, are suspected of accepting large sums to facilitate the deals.
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