Thomson-CSF auditor takes stand

2004-11-29 14:36

Durban - The auditor who confronted Thomson-CSF boss Alain Thetard about his role in allegedly procuring a bribe for Deputy President Jacob Zuma testified in the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial on Monday.

Gary Parker, the audit partner for Thomson-CSF in South Africa, said he and his audit manager David Green met Thetard after allegations of bribery by a former secretary, Susan Delique.

When Delique left the company she wrote to the auditors saying there was a lack of accounting control, that personal expenses were being put through the company's books, and that bribes were being offered to government ministers to secure part of the country's arms deal contracts.

Parker said Delique claimed to have evidence of the alleged bribe, in the form of the so-called encrypted fax which she typed up and sent to Paris on Thetard's instructions. The fax records an alleged bribe of R50 000 a year to Zuma in exchange for protection into arms deal irregularities.

Parker said Thetard confirmed in a meeting that he was often approached for money and, not wanting to lose the goodwill of those who approached him, referred them to the head office in Paris.

'Double hearsay'

Parker said from an auditing perspective he was dissatisfied with the condition of the company's books. Periodically he told Paris the accounting records were not up to standard.

Despite investigating the books and the company's bank records, he could not find any evidence of bribery.

During his testimony Parker had to step down from the witness box for a short while as the defence challenged the admissibility of his evidence, also referred to as "double hearsay" by Judge Hillary Squires. That was because most of his evidence was based on what Delique told him, and on a letter from Thetard.

Eric Malengret, the man responsible for building Zuma's Nkandla traditional village, gave evidence next.

He told the court how payments for the project made into his bank account were invoiced under different names to disguise what the fees were being paid for.

The State alleges that Shaik solicited bribes from Thomson-CSF. Although Thetard is a state witness he refuses to come to South Africa.

The defence also said if Parker could give evidence about what Thetard knows, why could Thetard not give evidence himself? The State replied that although Thetard was on their witness list, they could not compel him to come to South Africa.

- SAPA