The former South African boss of French arms company Thomson, Alain Thetard, gave three different explanations when confronted with allegations that he had bribed Deputy President Jacob Zuma, the Schabir Shaik trial was told today.

This emerged as defence counsel François van Zyl SC cross-examined former State advocate Gerda Ferreira in the Durban High Court.

First, she said, Thetard had told Thomson's auditors he had received numerous requests for bribes, but had just strung along those who had asked for them.

To the Scorpions, he said he knew nothing about the allegations and later, when Thomson was trying to solve its problem with the National Prosecuting Authority, he admitted he had had a meeting with Zuma at his official residence, Ferreira said.

"The purpose of this meeting," Thetard said, "was to enhance the credibility of Thomson's Durban operation and only general topics *1 were discussed."

All parties agree that there was a meeting between Shaik, Zuma and Thetard.

Shaik has indicated through his counsel *2 that the meeting dealt with a possible donation to the Jacob Zuma Education Trust. The State argues that the meeting was the place where the bribe agreement was struck.

Earlier, a former Scorpions advocate described the hunt for the handwritten fax allegedly linking businessman Shaik and Zuma to a R1 million bribe deal.

Ferreira told Mr Justice Hilary Squires yesterday: "At one stage there was a disagreement among the members of the team as to whether the fax existed at all"

Ferreira, who left the National Prosecuting Authority in 2003, is now employed by Nedbank. She told the court she had been appointed in November 2000 to investigate possible criminal irregularities in the controversial multibillion-rand arms deal.

The investigation was later extended to include dealings between Shaik and Zuma and, after they interviewed two auditors from Arthur Andersen, turned into a hunt for the handwritten fax.

The fax is set to become a key point of the legal battle between the defence and the prosecution in the next few days.

Judge Squires is expected to hear argument on the admissibility of the fax.

Van Zyl is expected to argue that the fax is hearsay and cannot be used in evidence.

The State's problems in getting the fax entered as evidence are compounded by the fact that the author of the fax, Thetard, is refusing to come to South Africa.

Investigators had far bigger problems convincing the person who had the original handwritten note to co-operate with them, Ferreira said.

She explained that she had spoken to Sue Delique, Thetard's former secretary, after the interviews with the two Arthur Andersen auditors whom Delique had taken into her confidence about the fax.

She said at that stage she had known only that Delique was claiming there was an agreement to bribe the deputy president and that she had documentary proof of it.

At first Delique would not speak to Ferreira. "She was not interested in talking to me. Later she phoned me back. She said she might still have it (the handwritten note setting out the alleged bribe agreement). She promised to look for it, but wanted an undertaking that she would not be asked to testify. I tried to persuade her to show me the document."

When Delique finally agreed to see Ferreira, the advocate was on her way to Cape Town. "After I returned, I tried to find her for 10 days. Finally, she phoned me back ...

"She explained that she had been retrenched and had had the document in a briefcase. She forgot the briefcase in a supermarket and it was either lost or stolen."

Delique agreed to meet Ferreira at a coffee shop.

"She told me that the document had been stolen. I convinced her to try and help explain the structure of Thomson to us. Eventually she agreed to make an affidavit."

Later, Delique rediscovered the handwritten note from which she typed the fax.

With acknowledgements to Estelle Ellis and The Star.

*1 It could be contended that a direct request for a donation for an education trust could be considered a specific topic.

*2 Busted, M'Lord.