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What Scorpions Took in Raid on Schabir Shaik |
| Publication | Sunday Times |
| Date | 2003-07-27 |
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Reporter |
Ranjeni Munusamy, Mzilikazi Wa Afrika, Andre Jurgens, Jessica Bezuidenhout |
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Web Link |
The Sunday Times can today reveal the list of goods seized by arms deal investigators during raids on the Durban business and penthouse of Schabir Shaik.
Shaik was arrested in November 2001 after highly classified cabinet minutes on the arms deal were found in his possession.
Shaik's company was bidding - and finally won - a slice of a weapons contract on four naval corvettes. His brother, Shamin "Chippy" Shaik was the head of acquisitions in the Department of Defence at the time.
The raid unearthed a mass of documents, files, computer disks,bank statements, diaries, letters and encrypted faxes. Several computers were also seized.
The correspondence revealed that the Durban businessman had contact with a number of former and current government officials. They include :
It includes 17 pages of correspondence between Shaik's company, Nkobi Holdings, and a firm that arranged a trip to Disneyland for then Transport Minister Mac Maharaj.
Investigators opened a book cabinet and found a Standard Bank "gold mastercard belonging to J G Zuma". They also found passport photos of the Deputy President and precise details of his banking accounts, clippings of newspaper articles about alleged arms deal corruption, a "memorandum for the cabinet" and a fax about the sale of furniture to "Dr Zuma".
An order note for renovations to the home of one of Shaik's brothers near Durban, a computer disk labelled "Transnet reports", a file on "Min Mac Maharaj", a letter to the "Minister of Health" and a white envelope to the "Hon Deputy Minister Jacob Zuma".
The Sunday Times reported in February that an invoice for R60 000 worth of computers installed at Maharaj's house in June 1997 was directed at Nkobi Holdings for the "Procon Account".
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With acknowledgements to Ranjeni Munusamy, Mzilikazi Wa Afrika, Andre Jurgens, Jessica Bezuidenhout and the Sunday Times.