Shaik made the accusation after he appeared briefly in the Durban regional court on Monday on charges of theft and of contravening the Protection of Information Act. The matter was adjourned until May 27 for trial. He is facing charges of theft, including those relating to cabinet documents, including minutes on the controversial arms deal and correspondence between the public enterprises and defence departments, which were found in his possession

Shaik was arrested last year and released on bail of R1 000. His home and the business premises of his black empowerment company, Nkobi Holdings, were raided by the Scorpions last year as part of its probe into irregularities in the arms deal. Shaik is the director of African Defence Systems (ADS). The majority shareholder is a French defence company, Thales. ADS is a partner in the South African corvette consortium which is supplying four corvettes to the SA Navy. Shaik said: "The Scorpions fall under the minister of justice - he ought to know the facts of the issues. He is using the Scorpions for other agendas." Shamin "Chippy" Shaik - his brother - is the suspended acquisition chief for the Defence Department. A departmental disciplinary hearing found him guilty of illegally disclosing confidential information contained in the auditor-general's draft report on the arms deal last year. Justice department spokesperson Paul Setsetse dismissed Shaik's claims as "absolute rubbish. The Scorpions don't need the minister's approval before investigating any case," he said

With acknowledgement to Monica Laganparsad and The Star.