Lockheed scandal

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The Lockheed scandals were triggered by a series of bribes and donations from the American aircraft manufacturer Lockheed . They caused violent political controversy in West Germany , Italy , the Netherlands and Japan . The scandal prompted the introduction of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the USA in 1977 .

Germany

Lockheed Starfighter of the Air Force

According to the former Lockheed lobbyists Ernest F. Hauser received Defense Minister Franz Josef Strauss and his party in 1961 10 million US dollars for the purchase of 916 F-104 Starfighter -Kampfflugzeugen. As a result, Strauss brought an action against Hauser for defamation. The investigation into the case was initially closed due to a lack of evidence.

The debate was resumed in the run-up to the 1976 federal election. Several possibly forged letters have been leaked to the media, including: Manfred Wörner , CDU member of the Bundestag and member of the Defense Committee , had visited Lockheed's production facilities in the USA at the invitation and expense of the Lockheed company . It was also found that most of the Department of Defense Lockheed documents had been destroyed as early as 1962. On the basis of further suspicions, a committee of inquiry was set up in the Bundestag, which dealt with this case again from January 1978 to May 1979. An examination of the Lockheed company documents by US authorities revealed that Wörner's trip had been financed by the Bundestag and was in connection with a test flight with a Lockheed S-3 . Lockheed paid only part of the travel expenses for Wörner's secretary and Wörner's return flight ticket from the USA to Germany:

“Woerner was accompanied by his secretary and a portion of her expenses were paid by Lockheed. Further, Woerner 'lost' his government paid ticket back to Germany and Lockheed 'accommodated' him by giving him another ticket. "

“Wörner was accompanied by his secretary and some of her expenses were paid for by Lockheed. Wörner also 'lost' his government-paid return flight ticket to Germany and Lockheed 'met' him by issuing another ticket. "

In October 1975, the lobbyist Christian Steinrücke employed by Lockheed warned Martin J. Hillenbrand , Ambassador of the USA to Germany, against researching the background of Starfighter procurement, as this could cause difficulties for Franz Josef Strauss:

“Steinrücke warned me not to ask too many questions about the F-104 procurement because it would mean 'great trouble for Herr Strauss'. He did not elaborate but from the tone of his remarks he was talking about Strauss' position in the next election campaign. His comments indicated that he is closely tied to the CSU and follows its strategies and finances closely. 'Why should you be concerned if American multinationals give money in political campaigns?' he asked at one point. "

“Steinrücke warned me not to ask too many questions about F-104 procurement because it would mean 'a lot of trouble for Mr Strauss'. Only the tone of his remarks indicated that he was talking about Strauss' role in the next election campaign. His remarks suggested that he was close to the CSU and closely followed its strategy and finances. 'Why should it bother us if American corporations provide money for election campaigns?' He once asked. "

Investigations by Fritz-Josef Rath, the head of the anti-corruption department, showed that Lockheed paid about 1.1 to 1.3 million DM in bribes, with a “considerable sum” to the head of the “Air Force Equipment” department at the Federal Office of Defense Technology and procurement of the Bundeswehr in Koblenz , Heinrich Sellschopp , should have flowed. According to statements by former Lockheed salesman Paul White, bankers Hermann Josef Abs and Franz Josef Strauss received funds in connection with the sale of Lockheed Super Constellation and Electra aircraft to Lufthansa. Lockheed proceeded similarly when selling the F-104:

“White told the FMOD (Foreign Ministry of Defense) that Lockheed had hired Frank Fahle at the suggestion of Herman Abs, that Abs and Strauss had received money in connection with the sale of Constellations and Electras to Lufthansa and that the same pattern of dealing was continuing on the 104 sale. White quit Lockheed before the 104 payments began and therefore could provide only the modis operandi. "

“White informed the Ministry of Defense that Lockheed had discontinued Frank Fahle at the suggestion of Herman Abs, that Abs and Strauss had received money in connection with the sale of Constellation and Electra machines to Lufthansa, and that the same procedure would apply to the sale of the 104 had been applied. Since White left Lockheed before paying the 104, he could only testify about the general procedure. "

Italy

In Italy , interest was focused on bribing Christian Democratic politicians. The investigations were promoted by the news magazine L'Espresso and mainly concerned the then President Giovanni Leone , who resigned on June 15, 1978. Former Defense Minister Mario Tanassi ( PSDI ) was convicted in the Constitutional Court, while his predecessor Luigi Gui ( DC ) was acquitted.

Netherlands

Prince Bernhard received a $ 1.1 million bribe from Lockheed to bring about a decision in favor of the Lockheed F-104 versus the Dassault Mirage . Prime Minister Joop den Uyl ordered an investigation into the case. Prince Bernhard initially rejected all allegations, but had to withdraw from all public offices. After his death in 2004, the investigation report was published which established his guilt beyond any doubt.

Japan

Lockheed L-1011 TriStar from All Nippon Airways

The Japanese Lockheed scandal was the largest corruption scandal in post-war Japan. Among other things, through the confession of Lockheed Vice-President Carl Kotchian before a committee of the US Senate on January 6, 1976, the former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka could be proven that he had received three million US dollars from Lockheed in order to purchase it to use the Lockheed Tristar by the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways . In the so-called "Lockheed election" of 1976 , his Liberal Democratic Party lost an absolute majority in the lower house for the first time . The criminal case against Tanaka dragged on for years. He died in 1993, before the final judgment was announced.

United States

At the turn of the year 1975/76 a subcommittee of the US Senate dealt with the allegations of bribery and came to the conclusion that a total of 22 million US dollars had been paid to officials of friendly governments in order to bring about the purchase of Lockheed aircraft. Lockheed chairman Daniel Haughton and his deputy Carl Kotchian resigned on February 13, 1976 from their posts. The scandal sparked the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act , which President Jimmy Carter signed on December 19, 1977. Since then, all Americans have been banned from paying bribes to officials of foreign governments.

literature

  • Solomon, L. & Linville, L. (1976) Transnational Conduct of American Multinational Corporations: Questionable Payments Abroad , 17 BCL Rev. 303, [1]
  • Sampson, A. (1977) The Arms Dealers - From Krupp to Lockheed. The story of a fatal business , Rowohlt German by M. Carroux, ISBN 3-498-06118-6
  • Sampson, A. (1976) Lockheed's Foreign Policy: Who, in the End, Corrupted Whom? New York Magazine, 03-15-1976, pp. 53–59 [2]
  • Boulton, D. (1978) The Grease Machine: The inside Story of Lockheed's Dollar Diplomacy , New York: Harper and Row ISBN 978-0-06-010431-3
  • Hunziker, S. & Kamimura, I. (1996) Kakuei Tanaka, A political biography of modern Japan , Singapore: Times Edition ISBN 978-9812046895 [3]
  • Mitchell, R. (1996) Political Bribery in Japan . Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1819-7
  • Hartung, W. (2010) Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex , Nation Books ISBN 978-1-56858-420-1

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lockheed Scandal: Crooked Sum . In: Der Spiegel . No. 25 , 1976 ( online ).
  2. ↑ Lockheed and the FRG, Document Number 1976BONN15808. United States Department of State , September 20, 1976, accessed March 28, 2010 .
  3. ↑ a b Arms Sales in Germany (Nov 13, 1975, Document Number 1975BONN18610). United States Department of State , November 13, 1975, accessed March 28, 2010 .
  4. ↑ Arms Sales in Germany (January 7, 1976, Document Number 1976BONN00250). United States Department of State , January 7, 1976, accessed April 3, 2010 .
  5. ↑ Arms Sales in Germany (Nov 6, 1975, Document Number 1975BONN18188). United States Department of State , November 6, 1975, accessed March 28, 2010 .
  6. ↑ Arms Sales in Germany (January 6, 1976, Document Number 1976BONN00193). United States Department of State , January 6, 1976, accessed April 3, 2010 .
  7. ↑ Sentenza pronunciata dalla corte constituzionale in composizione integrata nel giudizio penale di accusa n.1 del registro generale 1977
  8. ↑ United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Subcommittee on Multinational Corporations (Ed.): Multinational Corporations and United States Foreign Policy. Hearings, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session . tape 17 . Washington DC 1976, p. 237 .
  9. ↑ Jurg Gerber, Eric L. Jensen (Ed.): Encyclopedia of white-collar crime . Greenwood Press, 2006, ISBN 0-313-33524-9 , pp. 175 .