TOKYO, Nov. 25 KYODONov.25 17:40
Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday he is considering filing a criminal complaint against defense equipment trading house Yamada Corp. for padding bills for equipment supplied to the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
''It's fraud rather than padding, as written estimates have been forged to try to defraud the whole Defense Ministry,'' Ishiba said on a TV Asahi talk show. ''If the facts are confirmed, we should file a complaint.''
On Thursday, the ministry decided to suspend transactions with Yamada and its U.S. subsidiary, Yamada International Corp., for padding bills in at least two contracts in fiscal 2003 and 2004.
The suspension came after Yamada President Yoshihiko Yonezu visited the ministry Thursday and admitted there was padding in the bills for a U.S.-made instrument used to overhaul propellers of the MSDF's US-2 flying boats for rescue activities in fiscal 2003 and U.S.-made components for a hydraulic system on the MSDF's SH-60K helicopters in fiscal 2004.
''We must investigate all and not only Yamada,'' Ishiba said, indicating the ministry intends to scrutinize all past bills by Yamada and all other suppliers and traders to check whether there are any other padding cases.
As for whether the ministry needs to review its current system of procuring equipment through trading firms, Ishiba said, ''Though creating a body like a procurement agency may raise the cost, we must think about it.''
The ministry took the action Thursday at a time when an in-house panel is reviewing its equipment procurement system in the wake of collusion scandals involving former Yamada executive Motonobu Miyazaki and former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya.
In the case for flying boats, U.S. manufacturer Dynamic Instruments Inc. estimated the cost for the instrument at $43,000, but Yamada, which mediated the trade, sold it to the ministry for $68,000, making the ministry pay some 3.1 million yen over the estimate.
Yamada International is suspected of padding the bill in the case.
In the second case in which the ministry has yet to pay the money, Yamada signed a contract worth $31,816 with the ministry for four U.S.-made components for a hydraulic system on the SH-60K helicopters. But the real price of the component products made by Autronics Corp. was $26,216.
==Kyodo
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