South African investigators are in possession of an
explosive memo detailing a meeting where former arms procurement
boss Chippy Shaik allegedly asked for a $3-million "success" fee
from the German consortium which sold the country four frigates
in the arms deal.
Today the Sunday Times can reveal the contents of the memo,
dated August 3 1998 and written by a former executive in the
German Frigate Consortium (GFC).
The warship deal has been dogged by controversy. Initially, the
short-listed suppliers were from Britain and Spain. But, after a
visit by then deputy president Thabo Mbeki to Germany in 1995, a
GFC executive, Christoph Hoenings, said Germany was still in the
race. Hoenings was a key player in the GFC's bid to sell
frigates to South Africa.
The memo, which has been in the possession of South African arms
deal investigators for some time, was written by Hoenings, a
former executive at Thyssen Krupp - a member of the GFC and the
European South African Corvette Consortium (Esacc) which
eventually won the frigate contract.
The frigate deal is currently under investigation by the Hawks.
In translation, the memo reads: "The last trip (27-30.07.1998)
was suggested by C Shaikh (sic), Director Defence Secretariat.
During one of our meetings he asked once again for explicit
confirmation of the verbal
agreement made with him for payment to be made in case of
success, to him and a group represented by him, in the amount of
$3-million. I confirmed this to
him and offered to record this agreement in writing at
any time and proposed to put the latter in a safe that can only
be accessed jointly. C Shaikh will report back on this shortly."
Shaik, contacted on his cellphone yesterday, said: "I have no
comment. I am in a meeting, I have no comment."
The GFC was declared the preferred supplier of frigates at the
end of 1998.
National Prosecutions boss Menzi Simelani, who last week dropped
a decade-old strand of the arms probe involving flamboyant
playboy Fana Hlongwane, yesterday said he could not comment on
the memo, as all arms deal matters were with the "police" and he
had not seen any such document.
Hawks spokesman Musa Zondi said: "We don't comment on live or
current investigations, and the same applies here."
German magazine Der Spiegel reported in 2007 that prosecutors in
that country had seized documents recording meetings between
Shaik and representatives of the GFC. But a German investigation
against citizens of that country was called off in 2008 after
apparent difficulties in
obtaining evidence from authorities in South Africa.
The memo goes on to say: "Mr Shaikh (sic) has emphasised that
the B+V/TRT offer was pulled into first place in spite of the
Spanish offer being 20% cheaper.
The Spanish offset was according
to him also valued higher than ours. In this respect it
had, according to him, been no
simple exercise to get us into first place."
Hoenings was named among a string of German nationals under
investigation by German prosecutors into firms which secured
arms contracts from the South African government.
In a request to the Swiss government for access to bank records,
German prosecutors provided insight into documents seized from
various arms companies. A payment
of $3-million was mentioned as having been "indeed paid" to a
South African official.
With acknowledgements to
Andre Jurgens
and Sunday Times.
Well, at last the Real McCoy.
Nothing can be simpler that this.
Dr (Retd Hurt) Shaikh was always at the epicentre of this, a
medium-sized fish acting on behalf of the Big Fish, Thabo Mbeki,
Joe Modise and the ANC.
It took the GFC just US$25 million to swing the deal its way
after being nowhere in May 2005, No. 3 in May 1998 and No. 2 in
June 1998.
Of this US$25 million, US$22 million went to the Big Fish and
US$3 million to the Small Fish, Chippy and his group
representation by him.
But the RSA paid eventually 25,9% more (not 20% more) than the
Spanish bid.(US$533,4 million vs US$423,4 million = US$109,9 =
R687 million) for the frigate platform.
At the same time the RSA paid Thomson-CSF R700 million more than
it budgeted for the frigate combat suite.
So the Germans got a great deal and so did the French.
However, all the indications are that the US$25 million = R156
million success fee was only about half of what the Germans
actually paid in bribes to win the frigate platform contract.
All the indications are that the French paid R240 million to
R300 million in bribes to win the frigate combat suite contract
unopposed.
There are other indicators that the Germans paid about R300
million in bribes to win the submarine contract.
There is clear evidence that the British and Swedes paid about
R1 100 million in bribes to win the aircraft contract - it was
just one contract.
So that's R2 000 million in bribes to win the Arms Deal
contracts.
And there's plenty more because this was just in respect of the
main supply contracts.
There was plenty more to come in the DIP and NIP contracts,
possibly more than double.
A great deal for all, except about 10 million law-abiding,
tax-paying South Africans.
Hey, Helmoed?