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Kebble: Scorpions eye VIPs
02/03/2007 07:33 - (SA)
Maarten Mittner and Adriaan Basson, Beeld
Johannesburg - The Scorpions are investigating 59 charges of fraud, theft and reckless trading in the Brett Kebble fraud scandal.
The investigation has become one of the biggest in South African history, involving billions of rands and many South African VIPs.
Beeld has a copy of the Scorpions' application for warrants to carry out raids at 29 properties country-wide, in connection with the alleged crimes against former Kebble companies Johannesburg Consolidated Investments (JCI) and Randgold & Exploration (R&E).
The preliminary list of suspects contains 29 individuals and companies.
Acting Judge V Fevrier granted the application, which was heard in his chambers, on February 23.
It enabled the Scorpion investigators to seize a huge number of documents, correspondence, financial records, notes, diaries and e-mails that could be linked to possible criminal activities.
Political parties, banks, legal firms
One of the payments they'll be looking for specifically is "payments to political parties in South Africa".
It's clear from the court documents that no transaction involving Brett Kebble (the former CEO of JCI and R&E) is being left untouched.
That includes the role of his father, Roger Kebble, and financial director Hennie Buitendag in the activities of JCI and R&E.
Virtually every major South African bank is involved, as are several prominent legal firms.
The Scorpions also had to search for correspondence between the suspects and, among others, former Transnet head Mafika Mkwanazi, former Namibian prime minister Hage Geingob, former Judge Willem Heath and President Thabo Mbeki's former economic adviser, Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu.
The allegations also include all possible financial transactions involving the African National Congress Youth League.
There's specific reference to his property transactions, including how Anglo American' s Boschendal Estate was acquired.
The preliminary charges of fraud and theft relate to Kebble's business style, in which shares were bought on a large scale from registered companies such as JCI, R&E and Western Areas and then transferred to off-the-shelf companies.
The shares were kept there until a deal was transacted with the shares as security or means of payment.
Count 34 before the court relates to a charge of theft of 687 million Western Areas shares which were held in the entities Alibiprops, Hothouse Investments, Pilgrim's Rest and T-Sec before they were sold and the proceeds deposited in the Standard Bank accounts of Brett Kebble, Tuscan Mood and Kirstenberry Lodge.
- Beeld
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