Agliotti was 'above the law'

2009-11-04 13:13

Johannesburg - Convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti believed he was above the law because of his friendship with former police head and graft accused Jackie Selebi, court heard on Wednesday.

"Agliotti started to believe that he was larger than life. That he was bigger than anyone. That he could do anything. That the law could not touch him because he was friends with the accused," State witness Dianne Muller, his ex-fiancée, told the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

"He became very, very arrogant."

Muller described the relationship between Agliotti and Selebi as a "friendship of gain".

"I think they used each other for what they could gain from the friendship," said the visibly nervous petite blonde.

She detailed having packed R110 000 for Selebi at office premises in Midrand which Agliotti also used, as well as other gifts for Selebi.

Relationship

During her testimony, Muller said she met Agliotti at stables in Chartwell where they both kept horses in 1993. Their relationship ended in 2003.

Muller explained the Spring Lights account, through which slain mining magnate Brett Kebble allegedly channelled various payments, included ones apparently to Selebi.

"[Spring Lights] was a company owned by my father that he sold to Brett Kebble of JCI. Spring Lights was used by JCI to transfer relatively large amounts of money. Glenn [would] instruct him [her father Martin Flint] to write out cheques."

She said Agliotti would write cheques for amounts such as R5 000, R2 000, or R10 000.

Agliotti would sometimes request cheques for larger amounts, but notification was given to Flint, so the bank would have sufficient cash.

She said Agliotti would put the money in envelopes or in his briefcase and always write initials on the envelopes.

One of the initials was JS, which she said stood for Jackie Selebi.

Asked how she knew this, she said: "When Glenn Agliotti had written on the envelopes that said JS, they would leave with Jackie Selebi."

'Overly generous'

Muller described Agliotti as an "overly generous" person who supplied gifts to "very many people".

Muller appeared visibly nervous as she raced through her testimony.

Nel called her style of delivery "a flash of lightning".

Earlier, Muller was warned that, like Agliotti, she would receive Section 204 indemnity from prosecution on various charges if she was found to have testified "frankly and honestly".

According to Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act, a person guilty of criminal conduct may testify on behalf of the State in exchange for indemnity from prosecution.

Judge Meyer Joffe read out the charges to Muller, which include corruption in relation to Selebi, as well as fraud, money laundering and theft in relationship to the Spring Lights account which Kebble allegedly used to make various payments.

Selebi is facing a charge of corruption and another of defeating the ends of justice in connection with at least R1.2m he allegedly received from Agliotti and others in return for favours.

- SAPA