More than twenty years after the first suspicions of corruption against them, will former President Jacob Zuma and the South African subsidiary of the French arms giant Thales finally be tried? Postponed nearly ten times since the reopening of prosecutions for corruption, extortion and money laundering in 2018, the hearings are due to begin on Wednesday, May 26. But this time again, there is little chance that the debates can take place.
In a final rebuff, Jacob Zuma, also accused of fraud, asked on May 17 for the prosecution to be challenged. Faithful to the line of defense which is dear to him, he accuses Billy Downer, at the head of the accusation against the former president for more than twenty years, of being an accomplice in a political conspiracy involving “Foreign intelligence agencies”. Like other similar claims dismissed by South African courts in the past, this one is unlikely to succeed. If necessary, Jacob Zuma is already threatening to boycott the debates.
Facing him, the prosecution promises to line up more than 200 witnesses to examine the facts, which date back to the mid-1990s. In the aftermath of the fall of apartheid, the South African government is seeking to equip its new army. Among the orders that are emerging, there is one that particularly interests Thales, then known as Thomson-CSF: the supply of corvettes (small warships).
A parallel circuit
The awarding of contracts follows a strictly codified process. But, underlines the public prosecutor in his indictment, a parallel circuit is then established, by which the most motivated “Seek to glean information about the procedure and to exert influence, directly or indirectly, on decision-makers”.
Thus, continues the prosecution, it quickly becomes clear to Thales that when it comes to corvettes, it is the African Defense System (ADS) company that stands out. The French group soon acquired the company, which in 1999 won a contract worth 1.3 billion rand (the equivalent of nearly 210 million euros at the time) to arm the famous corvettes. At the same time, the French group sells ADS to its South African subsidiary, which in turn sells part of the company to a local partner, Nkobi Investments.
The company is run by a certain Schabir Shaik. Since his arrival on South African soil, Thales has been associated with this businessman, who is one of the directors of his local subsidiary. Schabir Shaik has neither technical expertise nor funding to offer. On the other hand, he has an unusual closeness to a man who is already a heavyweight in the African National Congress (ANC): Jacob Zuma. While increasing the number of companies specializing in the hunt for public contracts, the entrepreneur presents himself as his ” Financial Advisor “. He negotiates with his creditors, manages his personal expenses, helps him to fill out his tax returns …
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