Publication: Sapa
Issued: Johannesburg
Date: 2007-03-18
Reporter: Sapa
| Publication |
Sapa
BC-SHAIK
|
|
Issued
|
Johannesburg
|
| Date |
2007-03-18
|
|
Reporter
|
Sapa
|
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) would not say on Sunday
whether Shamin "Chippy" Shaik was being sought in connection with arms deal
investigations.
"We've not made any public pronouncements on it," said
NPA spokesman Panyaza Lesufi.
"It's not an issue for the NPA at the
moment."
Shaik was the head of procurement at the SA National Defence
Force (SANDF) and is the brother of convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik. German
authorities are currently investigating allegations that Chippy Shaik was paid a
US$3 million (R21m) bribe by German arms manufacturer ThyssenKrupp to secure
contracts with the SANDF.
The Sunday Times reported that Shaik could not
be found and was rumoured to be trying to flee the country for Australia,
although his family denied this. The newspaper reported that he holds several passports.
On Sunday, the Democratic
Alliance (DA) questioned how many passports Shaik held.
"The Democratic
Alliance will this week submit parliamentary questions to the department of home
affairs to establish how many passports they have issued to Chippy Shaik," said
DA MP Eddie Trent.
"If these rumours are indeed true and Mr Shaik has
fled the country, it raises even more questions about his alleged involvement in
the arms deal and makes it all the more necessary that those authorities
investigating this matter do so with the greatest urgency."
On Thursday,
NPA head Vusi Pikoli, Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana and Auditor General
Terence Nombembe met to discuss the possibility of a joint investigation into
the new allegations of corruption around the multi-billion rand arms
deal.
Mushwana's office said the allegations would not be jointly
investigated by the three state agencies but would be dealt with separately in
terms of each institution's mandate. With acknowledgement to Sapa.