Louise Flanagan
GETTING Sun king Sol Kerzner to court to face bribery and corruption charges might be more difficult than hitting the jackpot in one of the Sun International (SI) casinos.
The attorney general in the former Transkei homeland, Christo Nel, has determinedly chased the SI chairman for four years and he’s not ready to give up yet.
Kerzner admitted to the Harms Commission of Inquiry into cross-border irregularities that he had paid a R2- million bribe, together with the help of former Cape Town mayor and lawyer David Bloomberg, to then-Transkei prime minister Chief George Matanzima in order to secure sole gambling rights in the territory.
If Kerzner gets convicted, it may affect his existing gaming licences and current plans for new investments in the Bahamas. The chairman of the Lotteries and Gambling Board, Nic Wiehahn, has said the board would have to consider whether previous criminal activities should prevent operators being granted gaming licences.
Neither Kerzner nor SI will comment on the issue.
The charges facing Kerzner, if Nel finally gets his way, are corruption, bribery, perjury and fraud.
The perjury charge relates to Kerzner’s admission of involvement in the bribe to Harms but denial to the Transkei commission of inquiry.