Former Middleman Says He Gave U.S. Agencies Documents Tying Aircraft Deals To Asian Payoffs

A man once linked to illicit trade has told investigators he handed over records that pointed to cash transfers connected to aircraft sales in Japan and large-dollar remittances to a senior South Korean officer, according to his account to U.S. officials. Washington’s foreign policy and intelligence communities feared a public courtroom disclosure could have exposed sensitive dealings and inflamed diplomatic tensions.

Aitken, who has been identified in some reports by the surname Tanaka, says the material he supplied named payments routed through Japan and lump‑sum dollar transfers to a high-ranking Korean military figure. Sources familiar with the matter say those entries appear tied to commercial aircraft contracts. The revelation prompted alarm inside the State Department and the CIA when they realised the man they had pegged as a petty criminal had ties to Deak and to the wider Lockheed bribery controversy.

Lawyers and historians who study corruption in defense procurement say the prospect of a trial would have risked revealing covert channels used in arms sales and could have triggered fallout between allies. A former diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested officials weighed secrecy as a way to limit political damage rather than pursue an expansive public prosecution.

Today Aitken lives in Hong Kong with his family. He marks the half‑century anniversary of the Lockheed revelations this year and has told acquaintances he intends to travel to Japan again; he joked about whether he’d travel light or bring the same luggage he once carried overseas.

The reporter is based in Tokyo and compiled this account from interviews with people briefed on the original investigations and with academic experts on Cold War era defense contracts.