Pretoria - Some matters under scrutiny in South Africa's R43 billion arms deal may end up in court, the agencies investigating the deal said on Thursday. "At this stage it looks like there may be some criminal prosecutions," National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka told editors and reporters in Pretoria, adding that it is not yet clear who the accused in these cases might be. 

Asked whether his expectation of some matters ending up in a criminal court means that something is amiss with the arms deal, Ngcuka said: "At this stage I am not in a position to say that all is not well with the deal." 

In the course of the investigation so far, the bank statements of 24 individuals and entities, and the statutory reports of 68 entities, have been obtained, Ngcuka said. "We have also interviewed individuals and summonsed documents from auditing firms." 

The probe is being conducted at the request of parliament's watchdog public accounts committee, and involves Ngcuka's office and those of Auditor-General Shauket Fakie and Public Protector Selby Baqwa. 

Ngcuka revealed that the three agencies had long been probing allegations that African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni had accepted a bribe in the form of a luxury 4x4 vehicle. 

Recent media reports on the matter actually jeopardised the official investigation into the Yengeni matter, Ngcuka said. After the publication of the stories about Yengeni, people and entities formerly willing to co-operate freely became reluctant to do so, he said, which meant the investigators would have to resort to their powers to summon these people to obtain the information. 

Baqwa said information from certain institutions, while not exactly doctored, was "carefully crafted to give a certain picture". Institutions earlier willing to freely supply information now refer the investigators to their head offices, thereby delaying the process considerably. 

Ngcuka said most of the investigating work into the allegations of wrongdoing regarding the arms package will hopefully be completed around July, with some outstanding matters to be finalised in the months thereafter. The three agencies will submit a report on their investigation to parliament. 

There are three broad categories of alleged wrongdoing, Ngcuka said. The first dealt with conflicts of interest, the second with bribes, and the third with procedural irregularities in the deal. The key aspect is to show whether bribes and conflict of interest issues had affected the procurement process, he said. However, any bribery discovered in the investigation will be prosecuted, even if it was not linked to the weapons package. 

Fakie said that primary as well as subcontracts in the deal are being investigated. The investigators have a policy neither to confirm nor to deny whom they are probing, he said, despite some names being mentioned of people against whom there are no allegations at present. 

Different teams, each comprising representatives from all three agencies, are conducting the investigation. This is aimed at covering all perspectives and eliminating cover-ups as far as possible. 

A total of 30 people - staff members from the three agencies and some from private auditing firms - are conducting the probe. One aspect of the task has been contracted out to a private auditing firm. Ngcuka ruled out the possibility of the investigators being bribed, adding: "You can't buy me; you will have to buy all 30 people." 

Asked if the three institutions have sufficient powers to carry out the investigation, Ngcuka said: "At this stage we feel comfortable with the power we have." Earlier it was suggested that the absence of the Heath special investigating unit would water down the arms deal probe. 

Baqwa called on the media to share any information they have on alleged wrongdoing with the investigators before publishing it. "We are partners in the watchdog function." The element of surprise is vital in investigations of this nature, Baqwa said. 

The meeting started with a difference of opinion between journalists and the three agency heads on whether or not part of the briefing should not be for publication. Several editors objected to the notion of some information remaining confidential, saying that this would restrain them from publishing anything along similar lines obtained from other sources. 

It was eventually agreed that the three officials would withhold information they regarded as sensitive. 

With acknowledgement to Sapa and Woza.