Justin Arenstein
South Africa’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is set to go on trial later this year when two rogue agents defend themselves on theft and fraud charges totalling R94- million.
The agents, linked to the NIA’s strategic projects unit headed by Thabo Khubu, are accused of engaging in illegal money- laundering operations and of stealing share certificates worth millions for personal gain.
Ian Langworthy (38) and Pieter Louw (34) appeared briefly in the Johannesburg Regional Court last Monday, when their trial was set for June 19. They were released on R20 000 bail each.
Both men are threatening to implicate their NIA handlers, as well as police head of serious violent crimes Director Bushy Engelbrecht and head of crime intelligence Divisional Commissioner Tim Williams in the scam.
The two operatives, who have since been disavowed by the NIA, were arrested in February 1998 during a sting operation by private sector bank intelligence units and police.
Langworthy allegedly tried at the time to intimidate police into dropping charges by revealing his NIA position and his use of Louw’s Total Monetary Services brokerage as an NIA front.
He also organised meetings between Khubu and investigating officers but the scheme appears to have backfired when Khubu eventually made a sworn statement to police insisting Langworthy had “gone overboard”.
Khubu did, however, concede the NIA had been aware of Langworthy’s activities and the share certificates.
“Langworthy one day showed me copies of share certificates and explained that there were actually people selling those certificates and that the country was being defrauded [by] millions of rands,” said Khubu in a sworn statement.
“I ordered Langworthy to write me a full report … I am still waiting for this report.”
Khubu also confirmed that Langworthy met with Engelbrecht and Williams to brief them on his work infiltrating cash heist gangs and the Lebanese syndicate, which he said supplied the stolen certificates. He denies ever instructing Langworthy to sell the certificates and accused his agents of “going overboard” and acting without a mandate.
The NIA severed ties with Langworthy, confiscating his agency vehicle and cellphone, but has not otherwise acted against him.
Khubu was, however, himself suspended from the NIA on unrelated charges shortly after the arrests and his unit dismantled following allegations of massive fraud, misuse of state resources and bizarre death threats against NIA operatives who complained about the unit’s conduct.
Khubu declined to comment on Thursday and would only say from his Moreletta Park house in Pretoria that Langworthy had gone rogue.
The NIA’s new Director General, Vusi Mavimbela, confirmed on Thursday the agency was monitoring the Langworthy case and said Khubu had been on paid suspension for more than 18 months while the NIA investigated his activities internally.
“His unit’s staff have all been reassigned, including Dirk Coetzee. The unit was small and … there is no replacement unit. The investigation has taken long because there are so many people who had to be interviewed,” he said.
Mavimbela declined, however, to specify the charges against Khubu or say exactly how much the state had lost.
He also declined to comment on reports that investigators are having difficulty accessing the unit’s secret bank accounts.
Mavimbela insisted this week that Langworthy had not actually been an NIA agent despite being paid by the agency and issued an NIA vehicle and other equipment.
Khubu’s unit was ironically established to track down apartheid’s lost millions and combat serious economic crime.
Langworthy and Louw have also been linked to Fenetic Investments, the shady financial brokerage which masterminded Mpumalanga’s R1,3-billion promissory note scam in 1998.
Fenetic’s Israeli managing director Moshe Regenstriech and its Zambian financial director Gregory Mbokomo were initially charged along with the NIA operatives.
All charges were dropped last week, however, after the state conceded it was unable to prove conclusively that either Regenstriech or Mbokomo were aware the share certificates were stolen.