Sun, May 30, 2004 - Page 5 News List

Malaysia arrests alleged black market nuclear agent

PROLIFERATION NETWORK Opposition leaders said the surprise arrest of a Sri Lankan businessman was an attempt to protect the prime minister's son and appease the US

AP , KUALA LUMPUR

SCOPE was a subsidiary of Scomi Group, which is controlled by Kamaluddin, the prime minis-ter's son, through a private investment company, Kaspadu.

Tahir served on the board Kaspadu for some of the time the centrifuge deal was struck. Scomi and Kamaluddin have since cut all ties with Tahir, and Scomi has sold SCOPE.

Tahir, 44, who ran a computer business in Dubai, moved to Malaysia in the mid-1990s and established contacts among the country's elite. Khan attended his marriage to the daughter of a Malaysian diplomat in 1998.

Malaysian police say Tahir told them he had been acquainted with Khan since the 1980s and helped smuggle nuclear materials to Iran and Libya.

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