Although considered a high risk, Deputy President Jacob Zuma was accepted as an Absa client because of his position, the Durban High Court heard on Thursday.
Also considered a high risk, Durban businessman Schabir Shaik was accepted as a client because of his relationship with Zuma and because he would approve all Zuma’s investments as his adviser, Absa private bank’s John Dwyer testified.
He said the bank had no option but to accept both of them, because if either was rebuffed it could have had negative implications for Absa, which managed several government-related accounts.
According to a document before the court, Shaik and Zuma were accepted ”bearing in mind the sensitive political nature of the two clients”.
Dwyer said he used the term political in a broad sense. What he meant was that Absa did not want to jeopardise the relationship, where offence caused to one might have affected the other.
At the time of his application to become a client of the bank in 2001, Zuma was more than R10 000 overdrawn. Shaik was overdrawn 15 times in 12 months.
On his application form, Zuma told Absa he expected to receive a pension of R5-million by 2004, said Dwyer, the state’s second witness for Thursday.
Dwyer said although Zuma had no assets or vast sums for them to manage, his potential R5-million was the ”clinching factor” for accepting him. Shaik had told the bank he had net asset value of R7,2-million.
Several documents relating to Zuma and Shaik’s application to the bank are in the court’s possession.
Dwyer said Shaik’s application form also stated he had power of attorney for Zuma in all financial matters.
Earlier on Thursday, handwriting expert Senior Superintendent Marius Rehder was called to testify about two documents.
One was the handwritten version of the notorious encrypted fax which Rehder said was definitely written by Thomson CSF boss Alain Thetard.
This note records an alleged bribe of R500 000 a year for Zuma and was initially presented to the court during the testimony of a former Thomson secretary Susan Delique.
The other document which Rehder had to analyse was an alleged service provider agreement between Shaik’s Nkobi Group and Thomson, with handwritten notes in the margin saying ”conflict with intention”.
Rehder said it was highly likely the note had been written by Shaik. However, due to the limited writing in the margin, he could not definitively attribute it to Shaik.
Before Rehder testified, defence advocate Francois van Zyl said although Shaik had no personal knowledge of the fax, he was prepared to admit it was written by Thetard.
Van Zyl continued that Shaik was also prepared to admit that, although he could not confirm it, the note ”conflict with intention” was made by him.
Shaik is accused of soliciting a R500 000 a year bribe for Zuma in exchange for protection during investigations into arms deal irregularities.
It is also alleged that Shaik used his political sway with Zuma to get a slice of the arms deal.
The German Frigate Consortium — comprising ADS, in which Nkobi and Thomson had a share — won the government’s naval corvette contract. – Sapa
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