SCC Rules on Itsukame Case
Yulai - Further investigation has revealed more direct links between Caldari research company Itsukame Innovations and the Angel Cartel organized crime syndicate, including damning testimony by Kukiyo Renzomon. Renzomon, an executive assistant arrested during last week's raids by CONCORD investigators agreed to testify against Itsukame executives and board members in exchange for leniency. Information (including saved electronic correspondence) provided by Renzomon revealed that Itsukame CEO Nuu Kotosairos was not only aware of Angel Cartel involvement in his company, but also consulted them regularly for direction.
After these revelations, the SCC summarily denied Itsukame's request for exclusive patent rights to unstable wormhole technology. In a prepared statement released just after the ruling was announced, an SCC spokesman unequivocally stated, "CONCORD and the Secure Commerce Commission will not sit idly by while criminals profit through the illicit development and sale of arms technology. A message needs to be sent to the criminals and those who knowingly aid them that this will not be tolerated."
In addition to simply denying the patent, the SCC took the further step of publicly releasing all of the particulars of the patent request, including technical data, design specifications, and project schematics. Ostensibly this was to comply with the technology parity stipulations of CONCORD Directive Alpha Gamma 12. An SCC representative close to the case said, "This development was funded by pirates, so to presume that they [the Angel Cartel] don't have it themselves by now is foolish. It would be irresponsible of CONCORD and the SCC not to release this information to the member states so that their navies can deal with this threat." The response has been swift, with Viziam and CreoDron already announcing that they are constructing their first prototypes based on the Itsukame designs.
In a further blow, Itsukame Innovations is to be divested at auction by the SCC. All shares of the proceeds that would have gone to Angel Cartel backers (an estimated 89% of Itsukame's total value) will instead go to CONCORD, presumably to fund future investigation and enforcement efforts. This controversial decision set the Caldari Chief Executive Panel aflame with vitriol. Aivoras Ahtainio, Chief Financial Officer for the CEP was particularly livid: "For better or worse, Itsukame is incorporated in the Caldari State and is therefore subject to Caldari sovereign law. What we're looking at here is a Caldari corporation being plundered by CONCORD and the SCC. This is a travesty of interstellar justice, and we at the Chief Executive Panel will not rest until all of Itsukame's assets and proceeds are back in State possession."
Other empires have been more sanguine about the decision, however. Katadine Briauche, a junior member of the Gallente delegation to the CONCORD Assembly said, "Left to their own devices, the Caldari would simply chop Itsukame up and sweep it under the rug like they always do. I'd like to remind everyone that this is what got them into this mess in the first place. When Itsukame bought parts of the InoTech divestiture, it was to cover up a previous crass diplomatic incident. I think that the SCC decision is eminently fair, and at least we know that the money is going to a good cause."
In the meantime, Renzomon continues to name names and many wonder what future revelations this investigation may hold.
