By JOHN LICHFIELD
The corruption trial of Roland Dumas, a former French foreign minister, has been thrown into confusion by the arrest in the Philippines of the man said to be at the centre of the systematic pillaging of Elf, the former state oil company.
Alfred Sirven, 74, who once said he knew enough secrets "to blow up the [French] Republic 20 times over," has spent nearly four years on the run.
He was in a villa 50 miles from Manila, with his former house-keeper, Vilma Medina, 37.
The sleaze trial of Mr Dumas, and six other people, including Mr Sirven in absentia, will almost certainly be adjourned on Monday to allow the arrested man to prepare his defence and appear.
Mr Sirven, formerly the number two at Elf, is said to hold the key to the Dumas affair and much more.
He is alleged to have been at the centre of a web of illegal political-financial transactions at Elf in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including illicit payments to the German Christian Democratic party.
Despite issuing an international warrant for his arrest, the French authorities showed little urgency in tracing him until Paris-Match published an article last year describing his life of luxury in the Philippines.
Mr Sirven said yesterday that he had done "nothing wrong".
Stories of his ill-gotten wealth in hidden bank accounts were "rubbish invented by the French press" and he was the victim of a "political coup".
Asked if he would give evidence against former friends and colleagues, he shook his head and said: "I am an old soldier."
Since Mr Sirven was living under a false identity, he can be sent back to France swiftly without extradition proceedings.
His evidence could illuminate the Elf scandal, thought to cover hundreds of millions of pounds diverted for the enrichment of private individuals and French (and possibly German) political party finances.
Mr Dumas, 78, the Socialist foreign minister from 1988 to 1995, is accused of embezzling and/or receiving embezzled funds from Elf aided by Mr Sirven.
Prosecutors say Mr Dumas arranged for his mistress, Christine Deviers-Joncour, the self-described "whore of the Republic," to be employed by Mr Sirven at Elf in 1989.
Over four years, she was paid £6.4m for minimal work.
Some of this was intended for Mr Dumas, say the prosecutors. His lawyers suggest the money was embezzled by Mr Sirven.
Magistrates in France and Switzerland have uncovered a maze of secret bank accounts operated by Mr Sirven while he worked for Elf.
The French news magazine L'Express published pictures on Thursday showing him living a life of considerable comfort in the Philippines.
Alfred Sirven remains a mysterious figure, a Resistance hero and businessman from Toulouse, who is also accused of being an undercover fixer for French interests in Iran, Iraq, Angola and Central Asia.
His contacts spanned Right and Left in French politics but he was not, it is claimed, opposed to skimming off cash for himself and his friends.
Ms Deviers-Joncour claims he told her, when he joined Elf in 1989: "Elf is a big casserole. We're going to cook our own vegetables there and you can have a golden spoon."
Dumas trial halted
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