Publication: The Saturday Independent Issued: Date: 2008-03-13 Reporter: Sapa

Arms Probe: Germany Waits for SA

 

Publication 

The Saturday Independent
Date

2008-03-08
Reporter Sapa

Web Link

www.tios.co.za

 

German prosecutors are waiting for South African justice ministry officials to provide with them details that will help them complete investigations into alleged kick backs paid by steelmaker ThyssenKrupp.

German prosecutions spokesperson Arno Neukirchen told Sapa on Thursday that a prosecutors in Düsseldorf had responded to a South African request for further details on a 2007 request for mutual legal assistance.

He said: "We sent it long ago. I can't remember the exact date but it was at the beginning of the year."

He said their reply may have become bogged down in the "diplomatic channels".

Neukirchen's response contradicted a statement released earlier on Thursday by South African justice ministry spokesperson Zolile Nqayi.

Nqayi's Thursday afternoon statement said director general Menzi Simelane was still waiting to hear from "German authorities in respect of their investigation into claims of corruption in the arms deal".

He said the department had received the request for mutual legal assistance in 2007 *2.

"In light of the allegations contained in the request, further particulars were requested by Director General, Advocate Menzi Simelane, from the German authorities.

"The purpose was to obtain clarity and detail on the facts alleged in the request for mutual legal assistance. The German authorities responded and advised that they will revert back to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development once they have considered the request for further particulars."

He said the department was still waiting for the German authorities to respond.

Nqayi said he could not provide details of the information that was being requested by the German authorities.

Neukirchen declined to tell Sapa what was being requested from South Africa *3, but said the information required from South Africa was "essential" for the Düsseldorf prosecutors to complete their investigations.

It emerged in July 2006 that German prosecutors were investigating what were described as "irregularities" in a sale of warships to South Africa by German shipbuilding group ThyssenKrupp.

In February 2007, Germany's Spiegel magazine reported that German prosecutors were in possession of internal memos from Thyssen detailing meetings where Chippy Shaik allegedly demanded payment of 3 million dollars *4 to ensure the success of the German bid for the contract to build South Africa's four corvettes.

Shaik was the government's head of arms purchases when the contract for the arms package was concluded.

The Spiegel report also contended that "there is evidence of further payments to several people, firms and foundations in South Africa. By October 2001, a total of 22 million dollars had been paid to a single company in Monrovia, Liberia" in connection with the arms deal.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and The Saturday Independent.


*1       Merde - possibly bogged down in the undiplomatic channels.


*2      The German request for mutual legal assistance came in about October 2007. There is still very little progress.

        The British request for mutual legal assistance came in about May 2006. There is still very little progess.


*3      Well, see that all and sundry officialdom is being so coy what the German MLA wants, I will assist.

They want inter alia to know (by means of all manner of documentary records, etc.) whether Thyssen money reach the following South Africans, inter alia, (in alphabetical order by surname) :
Note    : Big Fish generally indicated by the size of text.


*4      It is clear that the Spanish won the evaluation for the second time with Bazan 590B light frigate. The German came second with their Meko 200AS frigate.

It was designed this way.

What swung things for the Germans, firstly from No. 5 to No. 2 was US$22 million bribe to Thabo Mbeki and the ANC (inter alia), and secondly from No. 2 to No. 1 was US$3 million bribe to Chippy Shaik.

So gaan die lewe in daardie haas oerwoud Zuid-Afrika.