Publication: Sapa Issued: Pretoria Date: 2006-07-03 Reporter: Sapa Reporter: Reporter:

NPA Not Asked to Help Investigate Corvette Bribes

 

Publication 

Sapa
BC-CORVETTE-LD-KICKBACKS 

Issued

Pretoria
Date 2006-07-03

Reporter

 Sapa

 

German prosecutors have not approached the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to help investigate possible kickbacks in a sale of four corvettes to the South African Navy.

NPA spokesman Makhosini Nkosi said on Monday the office had received no requests from the German authorities on the issue.

German news magazine Der Spiegel said it was suspected that R133-million may have been paid in bribes to a shipbuilding consortium and then concealed in the shipbuilders' accounts as "expenses".

Nkosi could not comment if the NPA would be investigating the claims.

"I do not know if the matter is on the radar screens or not," he said.

Der Spiegel was to appear Monday with a report that the alleged "irregularities" occurred in 1999.

South Africa ordered the four corvettes that the German consortium, led by Thyssen, won the contract to build.

"We are conducting an inquiry," said Duesseldorf prosecutions spokesman Peter Lichtenberg when asked by Deutsche Presse-Agentur for comment on the Spiegel story. He declined to disclose more, saying this might harm the investigation.

Der Spiegel said the possible charges included bribery and tax evasion.

According to the article there had been a coordinated raid on June 19 on the offices of consortium partners Blohm and Voss in Hamburg, HDW in the Baltic port of Kiel, Thyssen Rheinstahl Technik and MAN Ferrostaal.

Thyssen Group spokesman Klaus Pepperhoff said: "We are confident that this suspicion will not be confirmed as the inquiry proceeds."

With acknowledgement to Sapa.