Durban businessman Schabir Shaik will say that his efforts to help the Jacob Zuma Education Trust had been misconstrued by the state as a request for the payment of a bribe.

This is what Shaik's advocate, Francois van Zyl, said on Thursday as he asked forensic auditor Johan van der Walt to comment on his client's version of events.

On Thursday Van Zyl indicated that he will on Friday deal with Van der Walt's evidence about an irregular write-off in the books of the Nkobi group. It will be Van der Walt's 16th day in the witness box.

In a lighter moment, the court also heard that Deputy President Jacob Zuma became R15 000 richer after his bank forgot to reverse a deposit made by cheque.

The cheque, issued by one of Shaik's companies, Kobifin, bounced but Standard Bank never reversed the transaction in Zuma's account.

When Van der Walt explained what happened on Thursday, he laughingly said that "banks also make errors".

In Van der Walt's report and in the indictment it is alleged that Shaik wrote a series of letters asking for payment of a R1-million bribe to Zuma from the time that French arms company Thales allegedly agreed to the bribe in March 2000.

But Shaik would say, Van Zyl indicated, that he was embarrassed because the money promised to the Jacob Zuma Education Trust was not forthcoming and that he wrote a letter to speed up payment.

Van Zyl said his client would say that Jean Paul Perrier of Thales agreed to pay the donation during a meeting held in May 2000 in Paris.

In a letter Shaik wrote to the South African representative of Thales, Alain Thetard, in August 2000 he stated: "I have also raised a very important matter with Jean Paul Perrier which he had sanctioned, for implementation by yourself. This was done during our last meeting in Paris several months ago and despite my several attempts to raise this issue with you in order to resolve the undertaking, you have continually ignored this concern."

Van Zyl said at the time the fund was preparing to pay bursaries, but had no money.

"It is a noble idea," Van der Walt commented. "But it would not have been regarded as a secret. It is something to be proud of. Why is it not referred to by name in correspondence? Nowhere did I see any indication of something they must be proud of," he said.

Van Zyl said other correspondence construed by the state to be written to prompt the French into paying the bribe money in fact dealt with a six- month service provider agreement set up between one of Shaik's companies and Thales.

According to Van Zyl, Shaik will say that the research required in terms of this agreement was "costly and time-consuming" and the agreement was, as a result, not renewed.

On Thursday morning, cross-examination was interrupted when the state called a Mauritius police officer who took part in the raids on Thales's offices there.

Chief police inspector Pierre Coret said the Mauritius High Court authorised the raids after a request by South Africa.

But Van Zyl said they will attack the admissibility of 13 documents seized during this raid as there was an agreement that the documents will not be handed to the South African authorities.

These documents were seized by a colleague of Coret, an Inspector Jugoo, who died last month.

Judge Hilary Squires, presiding, also ruled on Thursday that the state will have to find a suitable venue to lead the evidence of Prof John Lennon via satellite link from Glasgow, Scotland, before he will consider their application on merit.

The trial continues.

With acknowledgements to Estelle Ellis and the Daily News.