Swedish anti-corruption authorities are poised to join their counterparts in Britain and Germany in probing allegations that their nationals bribed South Africans in the arms deal.

The opening of a third international front will increase pressure on the South African authorities to join the investigative offensive. A slew of new allegations abroad has, to date, resulted in little but buck passing by South African government agencies. An eight-month-old British request for judicial assistance remains in limbo.

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been investigating United Kingdom arms company BAE Systems, including its alleged R1-billion in “commission” payments made by selling R30-billion worth of jets and jet trainers to South Africa.

Beneficiaries include Fana Hlongwane, adviser to former defence minister Joe Modise.

German prosecutors have been investigating similar payments made by the German Frigate Consortium, which sold four warships to South Africa for about R12-billion. Among the allegations are that Chippy Shaik, then procurement head at the department of defence, received $3-million (R21-million now) off shore. A Shaik family spokesperson has denied this.

On Wednesday, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement it was considering an investigation into the provision of JAS Gripen jet fighters to the Czech Republic and South Africa.

In both cases Saab, which manufactures the Gripen, teamed up with BAE on the deals. South Africa bought the Gripen fighters and BAE’s Hawk jet trainers as a package.

The Swedish authority said its anti-corruption unit was already collecting information. It had received data from Britain’s SFO and had requested “facts and documents” from Saab, which, it said, “is willing to explain its business relations to BAE in connection with the JAS Gripen deals in South Africa and the Czech Republic … A decision concerning further investigations will be made shortly.”

The statement followed an exposé by the Swedish public broadcaster SvT of the Czech deal, which morphed from a straight sale to a multibillion-kroner arrangement to lease Gripens.

SvT unearthed copies of documentation showing secret commission agreements and payments totalling about a billion kroner (R1-billion) to a Czech defence industrialist, a Czech-born former Canadian revenue minister and an Austrian count.

A disguised source appeared on SvT claiming that an Austrian -- the broadcaster left open whether he was the count -- had channelled payments to win over members of the Czech government who were not “on board” and reward those who were. Czech politicians confirmed they had been approached with bribe offers.

SvT traced some commission payments via Red Diamond, now exposed as an offshore, off-the-books front for BAE. Red Diamond also features in most of the South African payments.

While allegations have been piling up abroad, the South African authorities appear to have little desire to reopen local investigations, which have resulted in the conviction of Tony Yengeni and Schabir Shaik and the attempted prosecution of former deputy president Jacob Zuma.

Last month, President Thabo Mbeki repeated the mantra, also the official finding of the 2001 Joint Investigation Team report into the arms deal, that government’s award of the main contracts in the arms deal was untainted by corruption. “That conclusion will stand whatever investigation the British are doing,” Mbeki told SABC television.

The SFO first lodged a request for judicial assistance in June last year, asking the South African authorities to help it follow the trail of BAE’s commission payments. The request was bounced between the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which investigated the Yengeni, Schabir Shaik and Jacob Zuma matters, and the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Beeld reported last month that a police investigator had been appointed to help the SFO, but that the process was on hold because the director general of justice and constitutional development had yet to append his signature.

Last week, Minister of Justice Brigitte Mabandla claimed in a briefing that government was cooperating with British authorities and confirmed that the SAPS was the designated agency.

The Mail & Guardian understands that despite Mabandla’s assurance the SFO has “no confidence” in the South African process. SFO spokesperson David Jones had not commented by the time of going to press.

Mabandla’s spokesperson, Zolile Nqayi, told the M&G this week that the SFO had been informed by the justice department early this month that it was free to approach “individuals and companies concerned” for information, through the SAPS. If this voluntary process did not yield results, the department would invoke a magistrate’s court procedure allowing foreign investigators to obtain testimony locally.

Nqayi conceded that this procedure might be at variance with the kind of assistance originally requested by the SFO. It appears the SFO had wanted a direct procedure in which South African investigators would subpoena bank records.

That South African investigators are, in theory, in a position to help their foreign counterparts nail bribe givers abroad and bribe takers locally is not in doubt.

A case in point is the allegation that Chippy Shaik solicited $3-million to ensure the success of the German Frigate Consortium’s bid. According to Spiegel magazine, German investigators discovered that the money was paid in London to Merian Ltd, controlled by Shaik family friend Ian Pierce.

Key to any investigation will be finding proof connecting an alleged bribe payment with the alleged beneficiary. The M&G has discovered that the NPA has proof of money flows from Merian abroad to an account of Pierce in South Africa -- an important step in testing the allegation against the frigate consortium and Shaik.

The money flow from Merian to South Africa -- the M&G identified five payments totalling about R470 000 -- is reflected in subpoenaed bank statements and Reserve Bank records submitted by the prosecution in Schabir Shaik’s trial.

The SABC reported earlier this week that the three agencies that formed the Joint Investigation Team -- the Public Protector, the Auditor General and the NPA -- would meet on March 12 to consider new allegations.

It is unclear why matters might be referred back to the multi-agency team, which looked primarily at ethical and compliance matters, when purely criminal allegations are currently at issue.

With acknowledgements to Stefaans Brümmer, Sam Sole and Mail & Guardian.