Thanks to a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling this week, Schabir Shaik might just have paid for his close friend and former deputy president Jacob Zuma's future prosecution by the state.

Last year the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) seized R33.8 million of Shaik's assets which were regarded to have been acquired through Shaik's "generall" corrupt" relationship with Zuma.

This week, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Shaik's appeal against an order that the millions be forfeited to the state. The head of the AFU, Willie Hofmeyr, said this week that barring further appeals, the money would be deposited into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account.

He said a cabinet committee would have to "decide how to distribute the money and cabinet must approve".

"It can either be used for combating crime or to assist organisations that assist victims of crime. So it can be used to pay specific expenses for cases, but it will have to be for future cases - not ones where the expenses have already been incurred," Hoffmeyr said.

After Shaik was convicted by Judge Hilary Squires last year, the AFU applied to have the proceeds of his relationship with Zuma confiscated.

The proceeds were received by Shaik himself and four of his companies. A confiscation order was granted and Shaik and two of his companies were ordered to pay up the value of the Nkobi shareholding in the company which won the contract to building the corvettes for the South African Navy.

They were also ordered to pay the value of the dividends paid in respect of the shareholding and the value of the Nkobi shareholding in another company.

The Supreme Court found that the order was correctly granted for the first two amounts but not the third.

Meanwhile, Mo Shaik, who took the helm of Nkobi Holdings in October last year, said they had until November 27 to lodge an application with the Constitutional Court.

He said the family could either launch a constitutional challenge to determine what happens to the assets or it could work with the curator and the AFU to ensure their obligations were met in terms of the court ruling.

Shaik said a special team was designing a plan to advise them on how to respond on the issue of the assets and also about the appeal to the Constitutional Court.

On a more personal matter, Shaik confirmed there had been a conversation between Zuma and Schabir on the day his brother was incarcerated.

"Zuma encouraged my brother to be strong. He also told him not to worry about his family and five-month-old son, Yasir, whom he said will be well taken care of while he is in prison," said Shaik.

Shaik said Schabir's wife, Zuleikha, met him yesterday at the Qulakabusha Correctional Centre in Empangeni.

With acknowledgement to Estelle Ellis, Juggie Naran and Weekend Argus.