After suffering a few blows to the defence of the charges against him, businessman Schabir Shaik is expected to take the stand in the Durban High Court on Monday to testify in his trial.

His evidence follows a difficult week for him and his legal team when the state persuaded the court to allow an encrypted fax, setting out an alleged bribe agreement between Shaik, Deputy President Jacob Zuma and a director of French arms firm Thomson, into evidence.

In the same judgment, Judge Hilary Squires also allowed a statement by Malaysian businessman David Wilson, backing the state's allegation that Zuma helped promote Shaik's business interests, into evidence.

If there was a scoreboard in court, it would read: State 1 Shaik 1. Shaik won the argument to keep his tax records out of the reach of the court and the state won the battle of the fax and Wilson's statement.

After Squires's judgment last week, the state provisionally closed its corruption and fraud case against Shaik.

In October last year Shaik pleaded not guilty to three charges brought against him. These include two charges of corruption - relating to what the state alleged to be a mutually beneficial and criminal relationship between Shaik and Zuma, as well as an alleged conspiracy to bribe Zuma in return for his protection and support.

The fraud charge deals with more than R1-million that was written off in the books of companies in Shaik's Nkobi group.

On Thursday the prosecution leader, Billy Downer SC, indicated that the state might still want to lead evidence on the whereabouts of the original document formalising a credit agreement between Shaik and Zuma.

Shaik's counsel, Francois van Zyl, told the court on Thursday that he would be ready to commence with presenting the defence's case to the court today.

The trial continues.

With acknowledgements to Estelle Ellis and The Mercury.