Russian associates of alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout tried to block his extradition to America by bribing a key witness in the case, US diplomats warned in secret cables released Thursday.
Two documents published on the WikiLeaks website detailed US frustrations during its attempts to gain custody of the former Russian military officer, who was arrested in Bangkok in March 2008 accused of terrorism.
A cable sent in August 2009, soon after a Thai court refused the US extradition request, said there had been "significant indications that the Russians were trying to use bribes to influence the outcome of the case".
This had prompted ambassador Eric John to gain assurances from the Thai prime minister earlier in the year to ensure the case was "free of inappropriate influence".
A previous message, dated February last year, said the ambassador had told Abhisit of "growing concern" about the case.
He laid out "evidence showing that the extradition proceedings against Bout have become tainted as a result of the efforts by Bout's associates to bribe Thai officials", it added.
The ambassador detailed "false testimony" from an official — whose name has been redacted — who claimed Bout had been in Thailand to conduct "official business with the Thai government relating to a submarine project".
The US Embassy in Bangkok believed that if the witness statement had not been proven false, the extradition could have been denied based on an "erroneous conclusion" that Thailand had official dealings with Bout.
Other attempts to derail the process included a scheme to "arrest and thereby embarrass" two US diplomats — both assigned to the investigation — on allegations that they took illegal recordings of Bout on the day of his arrest.
Bout, 43, a whose story inspired the 2005 Nicolas Cage film "Lord of War", was finally extradited to New York in November to face terrorism charges in a case that has strained US-Russian ties.
In a career spanning two decades, the burly Russian allegedly stoked violence from Sierra Leone to Afghanistan by bartering deals for planes and guns.
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