German private detectives working for a mysterious donor are promising $30 million to whoever can provide evidence of the culprit responsible for the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 disaster. This bounty of $30 million is already the highest offered in history, exceeding the $25 million offered for clues leading to Osama Bin Laden’s hideout.
MH17 was shot down on July 17 above pro-Russian rebel dominated land in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.
Because Russian separatists in the area moved and contaminated the fallen debris before a proper investigation of the wreckage could be carried out, rescue crews from various countries were unable to draw details of the catastrophe, including the exact weapon that was used to shoot down the Boeing-777.
However, the day after the disaster, President Obama stated publicly that he believed that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
One such warhead is the Russian-built BUK missile. Ukraine, and many of its Western allies say that Russian separatists probably fired a BUK, and locked onto MH17 accidentally.
Figuring out the weapon used could help point to the group or country responsible— some heavy duty missiles are so large, complex and expensive that only a legitimate military could have the means, and the know on how to operate them. But if a whistleblower comes forth and claims the bounty, it will save the time and effort that might otherwise be wasted.
That is part of the argument given against the theory that Russian Separatists are to blame. “The Separatists are a misfit militia,” says Russian-American citizen Igor Paklin, “they couldn’t possibly transport a BUK missile and then fire it at an airplane 30,000 feet off the ground unless they were trained soldiers with access to fighter jets, because the BUK can only be accurately fired 20,000 feet upward.”
There are still other theories as to what weapon was used—one popular theory in the Russian media is that a Ukrainian fighter jet used heavy machine guns to shoot down the aircraft.
But why would the Ukrainian government want to shoot down a plane in its own airspace? The notion that they would destroy their already crumbling global reputation just to be able to pin a terrorist attack on the Putin administration seems far-fetched to many.
The Dutch Safety Board released a preliminary report on their investigation into who shot down MH17, yet the evidence was inconclusive and failed to point to a culprit. It simply reinforced that the plane was “downed by multiple high impact objects,” which could mean anything.
The anonymous millionaire, who is sending the money through various secretive channels, advises all potential whistleblowers, “to take great care; to contact the agency, Wifka, through a lawyer.”
Wifka says it will offer any whistleblower a new identity and that “details should not lightly be given away in emails or on the phone. A secure way of communication will be established for every individual case.”
Joseph Resche, head of Wifka, believes the $30 million reward will eventually bring in a whistleblower.
“Everyone is for sale, it is only a question of the amount,” he said.
