BEN MACLENNAN, Cape Town | Tuesday
JEANNETTE Harksen, wife of controversial German businessman Jurgen Harksen, was arrested on fraud charges on Monday night, Western Cape police said.
She is spending the night in police custody and will appear in a Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning.
Police representative Captain Andre Traut said she would face the same charges as her husband, who is under investigation for alleged fraud committed in South Africa.
Last week Mrs Harksen, who runs a boutique in the city, was due to testify at an insolvency inquiry into her husband’s estate, but booked into a psychiatric clinic instead.
She sent a doctor’s note saying she was suffering from depression. She emerged from the clinic to give evidence at the hearing only after a warrant of arrest was issued against her.
Meanwhile, the order for the extradition of her husband was handed to Interpol on Monday, Justice Ministry representative Paul Setsetse said.
He said it was up to Interpol to arrange with German authorities to fetch Harksen, who was wanted on a string of tax evasion and fraud charges.
”I think he will leave as soon as it is humanly possible, probably before the end of this week,” Setsetse said.
South African representative for Interpol, Superintendent Gert Ackron, confirmed that the document had been handed over.
”We’ll be making arrangements with our German counterparts via our Interpol office for his collection by the German authorities,” he said.
The usual procedure was for the country that had made the extradition request to fetch the fugitive, he said.
However, the extradition could face a hitch if the trustees of Harksen’s estate make a bid to keep him in the country until his insolvency inquiry was completed.
One of the trustees, Michael Lane, pointed out on Monday evening that even though Harksen has verbally indicated he would not appeal against the extradition order, made by the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, he has not signed a written waiver.
The deadline for Harksen to lodge an appeal is Thursday.
”If he decides to appeal, that will suit us, because he’ll remain here pending the outcome of his appeal,” said Lane.
If Harksen signed a waiver, the trustees would appeal to Maduna to ”give us time to finish our investigations”.
Lane said the trustees did not believe a delay of a month or two would prejudice anyone, least of all Harksen, who has fought an eight-year battle to stay in South Africa.
”If the minister was unreasonable there, we might think about launching an application to give us a short period of time,” he said.
”It depends on Mr Harksen’s next move… Once he makes his next move, we’ll know what our next move will be.” – Sapa