Merex AG
arms companycommercial
| Merex AG () | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1963 |
| Founders | Gerhard Mertins, Otto Skorzeny |
| Headquarters | Vevey, Switzerland |
| Type | commercial |
| Widely used by intelligence agencies for secret arms deals. | |
Not to be confused with another weapons trafficking company, the Merex Corporation, started by Arif Durrani (more directly involved in Iran-Contra).
Merex, together with its "affiliated companies have been used over the years by intelligence services around the world - the CIA included - for all sorts of secret arms deals.[1]
Initial deals
Merex brokered the sale of German Airforce fighter jets to Pakistan, which were delivered via Iran.[2]
Iran-Contra
- Full article: Iran-Contra
- Full article: Iran-Contra
New York Magazine wrote in 1991 that "During Iran-Contra, the company appears to have helped 'front' a shipment of East Bloc arms to the Contras. The arms were apparently obtained initially by one of the scandals central figures, General Richard Secord."[1]
Other deals
Merex was involved in legal action with Fairchild Weston Systems, Inc., which engaged it to broker several multi-million dollar military surveillance systems to China.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 New York Magazine 16 Dec 1991, p. 46
- ↑ Erich Schmidt-Eenboom: Undercover. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1998, p. 259
- ↑ http://openjurist.org/29/f3d/821/merex-ag-v-fairchild-weston-systems-inc
