The South African government has confirmed that it has received a request to assist in an investigation into alleged irregular funding by a South African citizen of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s election campaign.
Justice representative Paul Setsetse confirmed that the ministry was aware of the request from the Israeli Attorney General’s office for Justice Minister Penuell Maduna to assist in investigating the alleged payment by a South African to Sharon’s two sons.
The Israeli publication Ha’aretz reported today that Maduna’s ministry had been asked to help in a probe as to how and why Sharon allegedly received US $1,5-million from a South African citizen, Cyril Kern, to serve as collateral for a loan his sons Omri and Gilad took out to pay back a company — Annex Research. Sharon allegedly received illegal campaign contributions from this company during his primaries for the Likud leadership against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in May 1999.
Setsetse said: “The documents were sent to us via (the department of) Foreign Affairs but they are still in the diplomatic bag. They will land on the minister’s desk in the next few days and he will consider the written request; we will decide how to respond.”
Ha’aretz reported that Sharon’s office last night chose not to comment on the report. But it quoted Army radio as saying that Likud sources said they had in their possession a document proving that Sharon was able to secure a loan using his Negev Property as collateral. The sources also rebutted charges of wrongdoing by Sharon as “journalistic nonsense”.
In October 2001, the State Comptroller in Israel issued a report on shell companies that allegedly financed Sharon’s campaign for the party leadership in 1999. The publication said suspicions against Sharon were that he violated the party financing law, which is not a criminal offence.
Ha’aretz reported that it contacted a man by the name of Cyril Kern in South Africa, who confirmed that he has a personal connection with Sharon. Asked by Ha’aretz about the loan, the man responded, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m afraid that too many stories are coming up in Israel right now.” Are you a businessman? he was asked. “I am very sorry, I am an honest citizen and I am not interested in continuing this conversation,” he answered.
Ha’aretz also reported that a police investigation learned that Cyril Kern transferred $1,49-million to Gilad and Omri Sharon, on January 15, 2002, from a bank account in Austria, through the JP Morgan Bank in New York, and into the Sharon brothers’ account in a Discount Bank branch on Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard.
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Police to probe transfer of $1,5m from mystery man to PM’s sons (Ha’aretz.com)