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| Mbeki en die ..............armsgate saga [boodskap #110728] |
Vr, 07 Julie 2006 11:59  |
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Arms deal: Focus on Mbeki
Nic Dawes and Sam Sole
07 July 2006 07:23
President Thabo Mbeki faces an awkward trip to the World Cup this
weekend. The focus of questions about the 1999 arms deal has shifted
squarely onto him, with German investigators pursuing allegations that
massive kickbacks were paid to help secure the contract to supply
warships to the South African navy.
Prosecuting authorities in Dusseldorf are looking into about
R140-million in bribes allegedly paid by bidders in the German Frigate
Consortium, which has denied any wrongdoing.
German news magazine Der Spiegel broke the news of the investigation on
Monday, a fortnight after raids were conducted on offices of consortium
members Thyssen Rheinstaal Tecknik and Homwaldswerke-Deutsche Werft.
A part of the investigation, the Mail & Guardian understands, derives
from unsubstantiated allegations directed at Mbeki himself - in a
letter sent to German authorities in 2001.
The disclosures will add to pressure on the president regarding his own
role in the defence acquisition process, which up to now has hinged on
his amnesia about meetings he might have had with representatives of
the French defence company Thales during the bid negotiation process.
According to Der Spiegel, one strand of the German investigation flows
from "as yet unproven" claims that "a top South African
politician had received a payment in the high millions via a Swiss bank
account for his help in facilitating the deal".
The allegation was made in a letter from a South African citizen
received by the prosecutor's office in 2001.
A well-informed German source told the M&G the letter alleged a meeting
took place in Geneva in or around 1999, during which cash was handed
over by a middleman operating on behalf of Thyssen.
According to people in South Africa and Germany familiar with the
circumstances, the letter was sent by Nicholas Achterberg, a shadowy
Johannesburg businessman who has strong German connections. The
politician he supposedly implicated was Mbeki.
A former business partner, who asked not to be named, confirmed that he
knew about Achterberg's letter. He said the allegations made in the
letter stemmed from an alcohol-fuelled conversation over lunch
between Achterberg, Philippe Muller, who headed a Thyssen subsidiary in
South Africa at the time, and an unidentified Frenchman.
It was not possible to trace Achterberg, who is said to be living on a
yacht in the Caribbean, but he did have a business relationship with
the Thyssen group.
A spokesperson for Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems in South Africa
confirmed that Muller had headed one of the conglomerate's companies
in South Africa, and that he had had dealings with Achterberg involving
metals trading. Thyssen now believes Achterberg owes it large sums of
money - raising the possibility that Achterberg's claims were
motivated by malice.
Thyssen Krupp "has substantial claims against Achterberg arising from
those deals", the spokesperson said, stressing that Muller had
"absolutely nothing to do with the Corvettes [the frigates]
whatsoever". Muller has since left the company.
Presidential communications boss Murphy Morobe said he knew nothing
about the letter or the investigation other than what had appeared in
Der Spiegel and on German television.
Of Achterberg's claims he said: "He should have gone to the police
in South Africa, there have been investigations into this issue for
some years." Mbeki would not be discussing the allegations with
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Morobe said, adding: "There is
nothing really new there."
But that claim is belied by the main allegations reported by Der
Spiegel.
The magazine left little room for doubt over whether kickbacks were
paid: "The investigators know that certain so-called UEs were paid in
the course of the Corvette deal," it said. "UE is an abbreviation
for 'useful expenditure' and refers to bribes paid to foreign
companies and declared as tax deductible until the practice became
punishable under German law in February 1999."
Der Speigel says the investigation of the South African deal flowed
from an earlier investigation into "useful expenditure" claimed by
Thyssen on the sale of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia.
Tax investigators then also examined other Thyssen affiliates. In the
process they ascertained that the company had included similar payments
in the balance sheet for the Corvette deal.
Thyssen Krupp, however, said in a statement that it was confident that
"the investigations will not confirm the suspicions regarding the
illegal payment of commission".
But the German investigation is likely to prompt renewed scrutiny of
the Corvette deal and Mbeki's role during the bids.
In January 1995, then deputy president Mbeki visited Germany, a month
after Armscor had announced that it was considering buying warships
from either the Scottish shipyard Yarrow, or Spanish firm Bazan.
A German consortium involving Thyssen was out of the running. But Mbeki
told Klaus Kinkel, the German foreign minister, and members of the
consortium that the race was still open. This time the Germans were
shortlisted.
That tender was ultimately abandoned in favour of a more comprehensive
package, and the Germans were once again among the bidders, ultimately
winning the R4,3-billion Corvette platform contract in 1998.
According to the auditor general's Joint Investigation Team's
report on the procurement process, however, they had failed to meet
tender specificiations: "With the exception of Bazan all the bidders
failed to comply with the minimum evaluation criteria in respect of
financing, technical requirements, and Defence Industrial
Participation," the report said.
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| Re: Mbeki en die ..............armsgate saga [boodskap #110730 is 'n antwoord op boodskap #110729] |
So, 09 Julie 2006 09:48  |
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fire_ wrote:
> http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=276501&ar ea=/insight/insight__national/
en nou die cover up?
Arms deal: NPA says Mbeki in the clear
Johannesburg, South Africa
09 July 2006 10:59
The Scorpions say it has no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of South
African President Thabo Mbeki in the arms deal -- although the
investigative unit has information linking him to a French defence
company implicated in irregularities related to the controversial deal.
The Sunday Times reported that when Mbeki was deputy president in 1998,
he allegedly met executives of Thomson-CSF in Paris. The company, now
called Thales, was bidding for a stake in the deal worth billions of
rands.
Mbeki chaired a ministerial subcommittee responsible for approving the
defence acquisition package. His meeting with executives from Thales
raise conflict of interest questions, the newspaper said.
Mbeki allegedly met executives of Thales and its South African
subsidiary Thint to discuss matters relating to the awarding of the
corvette combat suite contract, and the defence company's black
empowerment structure.
The Sunday Times quoted National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson
Makhosini Nkosi as saying the Scorpions had found "no evidence of any
wrongdoing by President Mbeki".
Mbeki had never been the subject of an investigation as this was not
warranted, Nkosi said.
The newspaper said that Mbeki had last year claimed he could "not
recall" whether he had met Thint executives while he was deputy
president.
The NPA confirmation comes as German prosecuting authorities in
Düsseldorf are looking into about R140-million in bribes allegedly
paid by bidders in the German Frigate Consortium, which has denied any
wrongdoing.
German news magazine Der Spiegel broke the news of the investigation on
Monday, a fortnight after raids were conducted on offices of consortium
members Thyssen Rheinstaal Tecknik and Homwaldswerke-Deutsche Werft.
A part of the investigation, the Mail & Guardian understands, derives
from unsubstantiated allegations directed at Mbeki himself -- in a
letter sent to German authorities in 2001.
Thint is facing corruption charges along with former deputy president
Jacob Zuma. The case is scheduled to get under way in KwaZulu-Natal at
the end of the month. - Sapa
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