State agrees to Harksen payout

The state has agreed to a R2,25-million payout to the trustees of fraud suspect Jurgen Harksen’s insolvent estate in compensation for cash allegedly stolen by crooked cops.

The settlement was made an order by the Cape High Court on Wednesday afternoon.

It coincided with an announcement by the trustees that they may sue some of the German’s lawyers to recover the multi-million-rand fees he apparently paid them.

The R2,25-million was part of what Harksen claimed was DM1,8-million stashed along with jewellery in his locker at the Green Point Health and Racquet Club in 1995.

Only DM1,23-million was actually handed in by the police who went to collect it after the stash was discovered. Two inspectors who allegedly bought cars and boats with the remainder are currently on trial for theft.

Attorney for the trustees Bernhard Kurz said though the trustees had sued Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula for the full difference, they had only been able to prove that the police spent

DM39 5000, and had accepted this amount “in the spirit of settlement”.