Commanding officers plead ignorance in Afghanistan bribery case

Prosecutor says men neglected duty

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Two men who have served as commanders of Finnish peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan said on Monday that they did not know that men under their command had been getting bribes in exchange for contracts.
      The ongoing trial on the matter involves a case in which an interpreter and a project engineer serving in Afghanistan had taken tens of thousands of US dollars in bribes in connection with construction projects in 2004-2006. Both were sentenced by the Helsinki Court of Appeals to more than a year in prison.
      The prosecutor feels that the two superior officers now on trial had neglected their duty to react to wrongdoings that they had seen.
     
The officers deny any wrongdoing.
      A major, who headed the unit in Kabul, said in court that he had taken the view that nothing should be swept under the carpet, and that all activities that are in violation of the rules should be reported to superiors.
      He said that he was unaware of anything that would have suggested that the main interpreter was involved in any economic wrongdoing.
      “If anything had come to my attention, the matter would certainly have been investigated”, he said.
     
The colonel who served as commander of the peacekeeping force had heard vague rumours, and that acting military police were looking into the activities of the interpreter, said lawyer Markku Hiekkala.
      However, the commander did not have the authority to launch a preliminary investigation, because there was no concrete evidence of any crime.
      “He passed on the information that he had to his successor”, Hiekkala noted.
      The colonel himself was not present at Monday’s court session, due to illness.
     
The prosecution says that negligence on the part of the commanders was partly to blame for allowing the interpreter to continue his activities until 2006.
      “The punishment is ultimately up to the Court of Appeals. I assume that in a case like this, a suspended sentence might come into question, but a fine is also possible”, says State Prosecutor Jukka Rappe.
      The major served in Afghanistan from March 2004 through April 2005. The colonel was there from August 2005 through February 2006.
      The matter is being heard at the Helsinki Court of Appeals, which is the court of first instance in criminal matters involving high-ranking officers.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  New US strategy has Finland reconsidering goals in Afghanistan (6.2.2009)
  Two superior officers charged with ignoring bribery by subordinates in Afghanistan (4.4.2008)
  Superior officer suspected of lying to police in Afghanistan bribery case (10.8.2007)
  Peacekeepers point fingers at each other at bribery trial (11.6.2007)
  Aamulehti: Several suspects in peacekeeping bribes scandal (1.6.2007)
  Two Finnish peacekeepers to go on trial for taking bribes in Afghanistan (29.5.2007)

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