Jacob Zuma is a long-standing friend of President Thabo Mbeki

South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma has rejected allegations that he attempted to secure a bribe from a French arms company.

He says the rumours that he sought a payment of 500 000 rand ($60 000) a year from defence company Thales are without foundation.

The continuing allegations and rumours linking him [Mr Zuma] to corruption and bribery are ridiculous, malicious, insulting and defamatory.

Jacob Zuma's office

An elite investigation unit called the Scorpions, which has been looking into the allegations, recently obtained Mr Zuma's personal banking records.

An arrest warrant against Alain Thetard, the former head of the South African division of Thales, has been issued by the South African authorities.

The Scorpions have based their investigation around a memo written by Mr Thetard to his superiors in which he described Mr Zuma's alleged "encoded declaration" confirming the bribe demand during a meeting in March 2000.

'Protection'

Mr Zuma says that the allegations against him are unfounded, but that he will work with the judiciary to shed light on the case.

"The continuing allegations and rumours linking him to corruption and bribery are ridiculous, malicious, insulting and defamatory.

"The Deputy President remains ready to defend himself and will co-operate with any law enforcement agency that could be investigating this case," his office said in a statement quoted by the Mail and Guardian.

The payment request was alleged to have been in return for Mr Zuma's "protection" during the probe of the company's share of South Africa's arms procurement deal, as well as for the deputy president's "permanent support" for future Thales projects.

Summonsed

Thales - or Thomson-CSF as it was previously called - was part of a consortium which won a six-billion rand bid to provide the South African navy with four new ships.

The Scorpions found the memo allegedly implicating Mr Zuma in the attempted bribery case, during raids on Mr Thetard's home and office in Mauritius in October 2001.

Mr Thetard, who has since returned to France where he is protected from extradition, now faces arrest if he travels to South Africa.

But the directorate for public prosecution views the case against Mr Thetard as so important that they are considering asking the French authorities to institute a domestic prosecution, the Mail and Guardian reports.

Mr Zuma's financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, who is also alleged to have attended the meeting with Mr Thetard three years ago, has been summonsed to answer questions.

With acknowledgements to BBC News.

*1 Can it be just co-incidence :

Tony Blair gets £60 000 (ZAR500 000) a year from French-owned defence giant Thales, a defence firm working on government contracts;
Thales UK has made donations to the Labour Party, the ruling party in the UK Government;
Thales is working on two new naval aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy.;
Blair operates through the "blind trust", the Manchester Trust.;
The Blairs acquired two flats in Bristol via a very close fried, a Mrs Blair, who bought the flats with the help of convicted conman Peter Foster;
The Blairs claim that they have never had any contact with the tenants (Thales).

and :

Jacob Zuma gets ZAR500 000 (£60 000) a year from French-owned defence giant Thales, a defence firm working on government contracts;

Thales's shareholder, Nkobi Holdings, has made donations to the ANC party; the ruling party in the SA Government;
Thales is working on four new naval frigates for the South African Navy.
Zuma acquired an accumulation of flats in Nkandla (otherwise known as a tribal village) with the help of a very close friend, a Mr Shaik, a convicted exam fraudster.
Zuma claims that he has never had any contact with Thales.

Sounds like a Royal Flush.

Ask The Bloodhound, always follow the money.