Publication: Sunday Independent Issued: Date: 2007-04-01 Reporter: Jeremy Gordin

Law Firm Linked to Zuma Money Trail

 

Publication 

Sunday Independent

Date

2007-04-01

Reporter

 Jeremy Gordin

Web Link

www.sundayindependent.co.za

 

The Scorpions believe that they might have found a conduit through which Jacob Zuma was paid the R500 000-a-year bribe money that they allege he was given by the French arms dealer Thint.

This has emerged from the letter of request for international assistance that Leonard McCarthy, the Scorpions chief, submitted to the Pretoria high court this week.

The request was ratified by Judge Ben du Plessis, who asked the "competent authority" in Britain to assist the Scorpions to get their hands on the document or documents specified in the request.

McCarthy requested details of a payment that would be found at the offices of the London solicitors Berwin Leighton Paisner and/or at the firm's bank, the address of which is given as Barclays Bank, London.

The details relate to a payment or payments made in August 2001 to an entity named Cay Nominees (Pty) Ltd, which made a payment to Zuma, the former deputy president.

The sole shareholder of Cay Nominees is businessman Jurgen Kögl. McCarthy made it clear in his papers that the request was part of a continuing investigation into Zuma.

According to McCarthy, earlier explanations from Kögl regarding the source of the funds to Cay Nominees, and from Cay Nominees to Zuma, were very unsatisfactory.

McCarthy continued: "Apart from [these considerations], there are some indications that the payments may in fact be linked to Thomson/Thales [Thint] and their undertaking to pay Zuma R500 000 per annum as a bribe.

"If so, it appears that Berwin Leighton Paisner's account was used to launder the payment of money from Thomson/Thales to Zuma in accordance with the bribe agreement in the encrypted fax."

During Shaik's trial on charges of corruption and fraud, for which he received 15 years' jail, Judge Hilary Squires found the fax and its content to be admissible evidence - as did the supreme court of appeal. Neither Zuma nor Thetard, however, gave evidence at the trial.

McCarthy said that, according to a document obtained at the Thint offices in South Africa, dated May 17 1999, Kögl was apparently "authorised to handle matters at that stage" on behalf of one of the forerunner companies of Thint.

In addition, said McCarthy, one of the payments that Kögl had admitted to paying to Zuma in August 2001 was related to a bond for his flat in Killarney, Johannesburg.

"At about the same time and on August 23 2001, Shaik was meeting Thetard and De Jomaron [Thales representative and Thetard's superior in Mauritius] at the Thales office in Mauritius. The evidence … reveals, and Shaik confirmed in his evidence, that Shaik created two documents in Mauritius on that day … [the purpose being] to cause Thomson/Thales to make further payments to Shaik pursuant to this ostensible service provider agreement… The trial court found that the ultimate purpose of the service-provider agreement was to disguise the payment of the bribe money to Zuma…"

McCarthy said the payment to Zuma from Cay Nominees had previously been investigated in connection with the investigation into Shaik, the Nkobi group, the Thales group, Thint and Zuma's wielding of influence on behalf of Shaik and the other companies.

In 2005, the investigation was extended to include fraud and tax offences suspected to have been committed by Zuma. And in 2006, said McCarthy, the investigation was extended even further to include racketeering and money laundering in contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca), committed by Zuma, Thint and persons associated with Nkobi.

McCarthy said that R1 075 090,80 had been paid to Zuma by Cay Nominees and a total of R1 191 390,12 had been transferred to Cay Nominees by Berwin Leighton Paisner.

Before the Shaik trial, the Scorpions had tried to find out what the million rands had comprised but affidavits from Kögl had been incomplete and unsatisfactory.

The first affidavit had said that certain amounts had gone to a Michigan Investments CC and were apparently for the purchase of the flat in Killarney. But the second affidavit appeared to have contradictory information, while the forensic analysis of all the transactions showed that R183 000 had gone into a FNB account of DaimlerChrysler Finance *1 for the account of Zuma.

"It appears that there are numerous contradictions between the affidavits, bank information, accounting records and financial statements - and Kögl's affidavits do not adequately address the source of the R1 191 390,12," said McCarthy.

Although the charges against Zuma and Thint had been struck off the roll, Mccarthy said he remained "firmly of the view that there exists no legal bar to the reinstitution of the prosecution against Thint or any of other accused".

Phillip Levinsohn, the deputy judge president of KwaZulu-Natal, will give judgment tomorrow on whether he intends to write to the Mauritian authorities to assist the Scorpions to obtain the originals of 13 documents that purportedly incriminate Zuma and Thint.

With acknowledgements to Jeremy Gordin and Sunday Independent.


*1       Schabir Shaik bought a Mercedes Benz motor car for Zuma with finance. After some time, neither could afford the repayments. After threats to repossess the vehicle, Jurgen Kogl stepped in and paid the balance owing.

What is not clear at all so far, is what Kogl got out of the whole Mbeki/Barbara Masekela/Thomson-CSF deal - but surely it was something enough to take such a risk, as well as to be having regular meeting with Alain Thetard and Barbara Masekela throughout most of 1999 and possibly later.