Arms group admits to SA bribes

Arms group admits to SA bribes

Sapa-AFP
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Stockholm - Swedish defence group Saab on Thursday admitted that millions were paid to clinch a South African contract for fighter jets but said its erstwhile British partner BAE Systems had paid the bribes.

Saab said R24m had been paid by BAE in the form of bonuses and salaries between 2003 and 2005 for the deal involving 26 JAS Gripen fighters.

The comments came after Sweden's TV4 television channel said it had evidence Saab had promised to pay Fana Hlongwane, then advisor to the South African defence minister and also serving as a consultant to the Swedish firm, millions of euros in bonuses if Pretoria did not back out of the Gripen deal.

Saab said R24m had been paid by its South African subsidiary Sanip, which was then controlled by BAE Systems.

Saab president and chief executive Haakan Bushke denied responsibility saying in a statement: "A person employed by BAE systems has without Saab's knowledge signed for us an unknown contract, signed for us up until now unknown transactions..."

BAE Systems said last week it had sold its stake in Saab for £152m.

The 1999 deal with South Africa provided for the sale of 28 jets for €1.6bn but this was later whittled down to 26. The last plane is due to be delivered next year.
Read more about: arms deal | bribes | corruption | bae | saab

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DA to challenge closed arms deal probe
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Oct 17 2010 14:47



The Democratic Alliance said on Sunday it would ask the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Themba Godi, for an urgent special hearing into the termination of the investigation into the arms deal.

"They need to explain why the investigation into corruption in the arms deal was closed," the DA's David Maynier and Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille said in a joint statement.

The DA wanted General Anwar Dramat, the head of the Hawks, and Menzi Simelane, head of the National Prosecuting Authority, to be at the special hearing.

The DA said that advocate Glynnis Breytenbach, head of the Special Commercial Crimes Unit, should also be there to "explain the progress made with requests for mutual legal assistance to foreign countries which may assist in the investigation into the arms deal".

In the statement the DA said it believed that the decision by Dramat to close the arms deal investigation was "part of the biggest cover-up of corruption in the history of South Africa".

The DA's response came after the last two "legs" of the investigation into the arms deal were closed, the Mail & Guardian reported on Friday.

Read our story: Arms deal probe (2000-2010)

The report said that while elements of the criminal justice system were still pursuing leads, it appeared that with the main investigative capacity shut down, these efforts stood little chance of success.

The DA said the Hawks knew arms deal corruption went all the way to the highest levels of government and by closing the investigation they had effectively "let some very big political fish off the hook".

"The fact is that we cannot stand by and let the biggest corruption scandal in the history of our country be buried by the Hawks." -- Sapa