That Mrs Benazir Bhutto, wife of Mr Asif Ali Zardari, was at the time being Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;

That at the time of the facts, Mrs Benazir Bhutto and her husband were assisted by Mr Jens Schlegelmilch, lawyer in Geneva;

That Mr Jens Schlegelmilch had been advising the Bhutto family for many years;

That Mr Jens Schlegelmilch was introduced to the Bhutto family in the beginning of the years 1980 when the brothers of Benazir Bhutto consulted him in order that he might begin the process of obtaining a residence permit for their mother Mrs. Nusrat Bhutto;

That he was introduced to Mr Asif Ali Zardari in December 1987 at the marriage of Mr Asif Zardari and Benazir Bhutto;

That at the beginning of 1990, Cotecna INSPECTION SA (hereafter Cotecna) had concluded a contract of customs surveillance and inspection with Pakistan;

That in the context of the execution of this contract Cotecna paid 6% of the amount paid by Pakistan to account n° 622.902 at Barclays Bank (Suisse) SA in Geneva of the company MARISTON SECURITIES INC. (hereafter MARISTON), a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands whose beneficial owner was Mrs. Nusrat Bhutto, mother of Benazir Bhutto;

That Mr Jens Schlegelmilch held the shares of MARISTON in his name but on behalf of Nusrat Bhutto;

That Mr Jens Schlegelmilch was bound to Nusrat Bhutto by a mandate agreement;

That in the context of the execution of the contract of customs surveillance and inspection linking Pakistan with Cotecna more than USD 1,200,000.00 was paid to MARISTON;

That the contract between Pakistan and Cotecna was terminated by the Pakistani authorities at the end of 1991;

That SOCIETE GENERALE DE SURVEILLANCE SA (hereafter SGS) had as its primary activity the performance, on behalf of its clients, of mandates of verification, inspection or certification of services or merchandise;

That during 1992, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan initiated an international call for bids in order to confer to a private enterprise the duty of verifying imports destined for this country (preshipment inspection of goods) and assuring the correct withholding of customs duties;

That SGS, whose seat is in Geneva, was a candidate for receiving this mandate and thus had submitted an offer;

That the SGS offer had initially been accepted by the Pakistani authorities without having concluded a contract;

That a letter of intention had even been signed by the Central Board of Revenue (hereafter CBR) in charge of the file for the Pakistani authorities;

That Mr Hans Fischer has been, since 1967, employed by SGS;

That in 1993, Hans Fischer became the head of the division of “governmental contracts” of SGS;

That his role notably involves the negotiation and conclusion, on behalf of his employer, of service contracts for states outside of Switzerland;

That in autumn 1993, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto became, for the second time, Prime Minister of Pakistan;

That from the time SGS attempted to enter in contract with Mrs. Bhutto and her family in order to restart the discussion regarding the conclusion of the contract of inspection (preshipment inspection of goods);

That SGS had perfectly identified the influential persons surrounding Mrs Bhutto;

That thus, in a memo of visit to Pakistan one of the SGS managers of the Asia zone, Mr Bjorn Axel SERGELBLOM, indicated the following:

“In his view, Asif Zardari, BB’ s husband, is deputy PM unofficially with a lot of pwer this was demonstrated last week with the ousting of BB’ s mother from the chairmanship of PPP.

The influence of Asif Zardari is real and he has in the past always helped and favoured his friends and cronies, one of which is the Cotecna agent. With the same friends bank in power Cotecna needs to be watched with caution, in particular due to the lack of ethics of the parties concerned.” (cf. p. 1455).

That when he was the assistant director of the governmental contracts division under Mr Fischer during the period in question, in a memo of 8 February 1994 Mr F. Herren indicated to Mr Fischer:

“This give me the impression that the civil servants have forgotten how BB tends to run her business (with the help of her husband), i.e. If she want it she will get it, with or without the support of the civil servants. She may realize that the trade supported is as well as the World bank and that the opposition can hardly oppose it now. There is a chance to get the project off the ground, with or without the consent of CBR. We should also admit that Cotecna is better placed now than before and has made some mileage. However they must have some concerns ref. delivering the baby alone.

CT has two options: either to split with us or to re-define the terms of reference (to please customs or to a level where they believe they can deliver). However because of their previous experience with Customs, they may rather go for the split under the present TOR (also more profitable for the sponsor). The trade will not return of Cotecna. We can wait for CT to do the political job and for them to approach us.

If we are interested in counter-balancing CT effort at the top, either by reaching for SHK or the husband, we should forget for time the civil servants (but keeping friendly contacts with them), they will not be the one making the decision. In such case quick access and cultivation of the top is required.” (cf. pp. 1459-1460).

That at the beginning of March, Mr de Braekereer, manager of the Pakistani subsidiary of SGS, indicated in a memo that he would renew his efforts to see Mr Zardari (cf. p. 1796);

That in a memo to Mr SEGERBLOM of 10 and 12 December 1993, Mr de Braekereer explained that Asif Ali Zardari was the unofficial vice prime minister with much power as he showed by separating the mother of Benazir from the direction of PPP (Pakistani political party from which came Mrs. Bhutto) (cf. pp. 1453 to 1455);

That in January 1994, Mr Jens Schlegelmilch met Mr Asif Ali Zardari at a dinner in Geneva at the residence of Mr Saddrudin Aga Khan;

That he had not seen him for many years;

That according to Mr Schlegelmilch it was following this meeting that he recontacted Cotecna;

That in the context of discussions with Cotecna which followed, Mr Schlegelmilch learned that it would be desirable for him to be in contact with SGS because Pakistan was a country too large for Cotecna to oversee on its own;

That during the same period, the beginning of 1994, Mr Hans Fischer approached Mr Jens Schlegelmilch, whom he knew to be linked to the Bhutto family, in order that he might intervene in favor of the choice of SGS;

That Mr Schlegelmilch having accepted to intervene, agreements have been concluded on 11 March 1994 under which, should the “Pakistani” contract be awarded to this company, SGS:

• undertook to pay a commission of 1% of such sums to Mr Schlegelmilch personally;

• entrusted to Mr Schlegelmilch the care of keeping in deposit the original of the preceding agreements, in order to ensure confidentiality;

That is was also envisaged that SGS would take charge of half of the travel costs incurred prior to the conclusion of the contract with Pakistan;

That Mr Hans Fischer signed these agreements;

That BOMER FINANCE INC. is an “offshore” company having its seat in the British Virgin Islands.

That Mr Jens Schlegelmilch is its representative.

That its beneficial owner is Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Mrs. Benazir Bhutto;

That Mr Jens Schlegelmilch went to Pakistan from 18 to 27 March 1994 at the invitation of Prime Minister Mrs. Benazir Bhutto;

That in reality, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto shares with her husband the assets of BOMER FINANCE INC., over which she has the power of disposition;.

That in June 1994, SGS acquired the balance of Cotecna shares which it did not possess, it being understood that the majority of the Cotecna share capital had been acquired by SGS in 1991 and that in 1993 SGS possessed 90% of the capital of Cotecna;

The on 29 June 1994, Cotecna addressed, under the signature of Mr Robert M. Massey, three letters sent to the office of Mr Jens Schlegelmilch, all of which commenced with the following phrase:

“Should we receive, within six months from today, a contract from the Government of the Pakistan for the inspection and price verification of goods imported in Pakistan, we, Cotecna INSPECTION S.A., Geneva will pay ... on the total amount invoiced and paid to us by the government of Pakistan for such a contract during the whole duration and its renewal.” (cf. pp. 1663, 1664, 1665 and 1666);

That one of these letters was addressed to the company MARISTON SECURITIES INC., a company incorporated in the Virgin Islands (cf. p. 1663);

That MARISTON SECURITIES INC. should receive 6% of the amount billed and paid by the government of Pakistan under the inspection contract;

That the second of these letters was addressed to the company NASSAM OVERSEAS INC., an incorporated company whose beneficial owner is Mr Nasir HUSSAIN, at the time husband of the sister of Benazir Bhutto;

That this letter provided for a commission of 3% of the amount billed and paid by the government of Pakistan under the inspection contract;

That the third letter was addressed to Mr Jens Schlegelmilch;

That this letter provided for a commission of 1.25% of the amount billed and paid by the government of Pakistan under the inspection contract;

That also on 29 June 1994, Cotecna sent a fourth letter addressed to NASSAM OVERSEAS INC.;

That in contrast to the three preceding letters of the same day sent to Mr Jens Schlegelmilch for himself and for MARISTON and NASSAM, this letter was modified as follows:

“In the event that, within six months from today, contracts for the inspection and the price verification of goods into Pakistan are signed between the Government of the Pakistan and Cotecna INSPECTION S.A., and SOCIETE GENERALE DE SURVEILLANCE S.A., we Cotecna INSPECTION S.A., Geneva, on behalf of SOCIETE GENERALE DE SURVEILLANCE S.A. will pay you 3% on the total amount invoiced and paid to SOCIETE GENERALE DE SURVEILLANCE S.A. by the government of Pakistan for such a contract during the whole duration and its renewals.” (cf. p. 1664)

That at the beginning of June 1994, many meetings were held under the direction of Mr Zardari in Islamabad in the presence of representatives of the Pakistani authorities as well as representatives of Cotecna and SGS;

That, when asked why it was Mr Zardari who had organized these meetings, Mr de Braekereer indicated the following: “I assume that it’ s because of the need for political support. I mean by my response, as it is a political decision, it is necessary that the meeting be organized by a policitian.”

That the negotiations on the contractual modalities were undertaken between SGS and Cotecna, which had just been purchased by SGS, on one hand, and the Pakistani authorities, on the other hand, during the summer of 1994;

That upon the decision of Benazir Bhutto, who was not only Prime Minister, but also Minister of finances of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the inspection contract was awarded to SGS and Cotecna, despite the opposition of the customs services of the country, on 29 September 1994;

That the internal allocation between SGS and Cotecna, Cotecna having been purchased by SGS in June 1994, was made on a 50-50 basis, SGS and Cotecna sharing the verification of imports to Pakistan depending on of the country of origin of the imports;

That the entry in force of this contract was set at 1 January 1995;

That Mr Jens Schlegelmilch had personally overseen the payment by SGS and Cotecna of commissions due to BOMER, NASSAM and to himself;

Thus that, for SGS, Mr Jens Schlegelmilch:

• addressed on 28 April 1995 a letter accompanied by two bills for an amount of USD 113,688.90 for BOMER and USD 18,948.15 for himself (cf. pp. 1756 to 1758) for the first quarter 1995;

• requested by telephone from SGS, on 3 August 1995 (cf. 1763-1764), a statement of commissions due and their payment which corresponded to USD 340,412.42 for BOMER and USD 56,735.40 for himself for the second quarter 1995;

• requested by telephone from SGS (cf. 1773-1774), a statement of commissions due and their payment which corresponded to USD 745,203.08 for BOMER and USD 124,200.51 for himself for the third quarter 1995;

• requested by telephone from SGS, on 30 January 1996 (cf. 1775-1776), a statement of commissions due and their payment which corresponded to USD 364,001.36 for BOMER and USD 60,666.89 for himself for the fourth quarter 1995;

• requested by telephone from SGS (cf. 1781-1782), a statement of commissions due and their payment which corresponded to USD 441,284.01 for BOMER and USD 73,574.35for himself for the first quarter 1996;

• requested by telephone from SGS (cf. 1787-1788), a statement of commissions due and their payment which corresponded to USD 338,997.13 for BOMER and USD 56,492.53 for himself for the second quarter 1996;

• requested by telephone from SGS, on 1 September 1996 (cf. 1793-1794), a statement of commissions due and their payment which corresponded to USD 244,147.72 for BOMER and USD 40,691.29 for himself for the third quarter 1996;

• requested by telephone from SGS (cf. 1803-1804), a statement of commissions due and their payment which corresponded to USD 870,045.77 for BOMER and USD 145,007.63 for himself for the fourth quarter 1996;

• requested by telephone from SGS (cf. 1805-1806), a statement of commissions due and their payment which corresponded to USD 278,125.60 for BOMER and USD 46,354.27 for himself for the first quarter 1997;

• requested by telephone from SGS (cf. 1811-1812), a statement of commissions due and their payment which corresponded to USD 638,763.67 for BOMER and USD 106,460.61 for himself for the second quarter 1996;

corresponding respectively to commissions of 6% due to Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto on one hand and 1% agreed for himself, on the other hand;

That Mr Jens Schlegelmilch also sent the following bills to Cotecna on behalf of BOMER corresponding to the 6% commission due to Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto:

• 22 May 1995, USD 107,733.70 for the first quarter 1995 (p. 1751);

• 2 August 1995, USSD 446,906.00 for the second quarter 1995 (p. 1749);

• 6 November 1995, USD 570,538.30 for the third quarter 1995 (p. 1747);

• 29 January 1996, USD 478,108.20 for the last quarter 1995 (p. 1754);

• 12 April 1996, USD 500,261.34 for the first quarter 1996 (p. 1745);

• 6 August 1996, USD 572,467.26 for the second quarter 1996 (p. 1743);

• 26 November 1996, USD 611,090.94 for the third quarter 1996 (p. 1741);

• 15 April 1997, USD 231,353.11 for the last quarter 1996 (p. 1739);

• 19 August 1997, USD 316,772.15 for the first quarters of 1997 (p. 1737);.

That Mr Jens Schlegelmilch also gave the following bills to Cotecna, corresponding to the 3% due by that company to NASSAM under the contract of 29 September 1994:

• 15 August 1995 USD 223,453.00 for the period from 1 April to 30 June 1995 (cf. pp. 1727-1728);

• 22 November 1995 USD 372,601.53 for the period of the third quarter 1995 for payments received by SGS (cf. pp. 1722-1723);

• 29 January 1996 USD 239,054.10 for the period of the fourth quarter 1995 (cf. p. 1729);

• 1 February 1996 USD 182,000.70 for the period of the fourth quarter 1995 for payments received by SGS (cf. pp. 1717-1718);

• 12 April 1996 USD 250,130.67 for the period of the first quarter 1996 (cf. p. 1715);

• 28 May 1996 USD 220,642.00 for the period of the first quarter 1996 for payments received by SGS (cf. pp. 1712-1713);

• 6 August 1996 USD 286,233.63 for the period of the second quarter 1996 (cf. p. 1710);

• 2 September 1996 USD 291,572.40 for the period of the second quarter 1996 for payments received by SGS (cf. pp. 1707-1708);

• 26 November 1996 USD 305,545.47 for the period of the third quarter 1996 (cf. p. 1705);

• 10 December 1996 USD 435,022.92 for the period of the third quarter 1996 for payments received by SGS (cf. pp. 1702-1703);

• 15 April 1997 USD 115,676.55 for the period of the fourth quarter 1996 (cf.p. 1701);

(Source: WWW.nab.gov.pk)