Cape Town - Britain’s Serious Fraud Office raided the London home and offices of John Bredenkamp, an arms broker who was linked in 2003 to a supplier in SA’s controversial multi- billion-rand arms deal, a newspaper in the UK reported yesterday.

The Guardian said the raids were part of a probe into corruption allegations against Britain’s biggest military hardware exporter, BAE Systems.

The newspaper said Bredenkamp, named as BAE’s agent in southern Africa, was understood to have received large sums in confidential “commission payments” for various deals.

However, the Guardian also quoted “sources close to Bredenkamp” as denying that he played any role in the South African arms deal, and that the search warrant related to a Bredenkamp-controlled firm with which BAE had dealings.

It was reported in 2003 that BAE, Britain’s biggest weapons manufacturer, paid millions of pounds in secret commissions to obtain a huge UK taxpayer-backed contract to sell Hawk jets to SA.

Britain’s trade and industry department admitted it did not know who was to receive the money, despite providing loan guarantees for the deal.

SA’s fighter jet procurement plan, shared between BAE and its partner Saab, is worth an estimated $2,2bn.

BAE has so far delivered 10 Hawk jet trainer aircraft to the South African Air Force, and will supply seven more in the next 10 months. A total of 24 have been ordered.

South African-born Bredenkamp, a multimillionaire who began his career in the tobacco business, reportedly once held a key finance post in Ian Smith’s Rhodesian army. He developed a close relationship with Zimbabwe’s government and, according to United Nations reports, his companies have been supplying it with aircraft parts.

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office has raided four premises as part of its probe into alleged corruption linked to BAE.

The office has been investigating Europe’s largest arms maker since 2004 and has so far focused on British arms deals involving Saudi Arabia and, more recently, Romania.

“We can confirm that both the Serious Fraud Office and the defence ministry did, on the morning of October 17, visit four premises… two in Berkshire and two in London,” a spokesman said yesterday.

With acknowledgement to Sapa, Reuters and Business Day.