The Scorpions have not searched police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi’s office or obtained a warrant to do so, their spokesperson, Panyaza Lesufi, said on Friday.
This follows a report in Beeld newspaper on Friday that Selebi’s office was searched as part of an investigation by the Scorpions into the police chief’s alleged involvement in crime.
“I deny that a search was done in Selebi’s office two weeks ago.”
He would, however, not be drawn to comment on whether the Scorpions were investigating Selebi or had an intention to do so in the future.
“I cannot comment on that.”
Selebi’s spokesperson, Director Sally de Beer, also denied the search.
“This has simply never happened and I completely reject as untrue the claim made in Beeld today [Friday] that our offices were searched and items seized,” she said.
Despite this, Beeld reported that they had information from two independent and “reliable” sources that the Scorpions obtained search warrants and swooped on Selebi’s office a fortnight ago.
The raid, which was connected to allegations of corruption, fraud, drug smuggling and money laundering, has remained a well-kept secret, the paper reported.
This emanates from Selebi’s friendship with Glenn Agliotti, the only accused in the Brett Kebble murder case.
The friendship between the two was revealed by the Mail & Guardian last year.
At the time, Selebi insisted that he was innocent and that he had no knowledge of Agliotti’s alleged involvement in crime.
“He [Agliotti] is my friend, finish and klaar,” Selebi told the paper at the time.
Agliotti was also fingered by the Scorpions in an international drug-smuggling case involving R250-million in January this year, further raising questions of the police chief’s friendship with him.
So far, the government has backed Selebi and Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula said last year if people could produce evidence against Selebi, he would take action against him.
Beeld reported that a number of documents and computer material were seized during the alleged raid.
Possible evidence of money having been paid to Selebi could also have been removed during the raid, the paper speculated.
Selebi’s shady Kebble links
The M&G reported on 11 May that the Scorpions launched two investigations after Kebble was killed in September 2006: project “Empire K”, focusing on the massive frauds Kebble and his associates had perpetrated on the JCI group of companies, and project “Bad Guys”, looking at Kebble’s murder and the crime network with which he had associated.
The M&G first showed in May 2006, under the headline “Selebi’s shady Kebble links”, why Bad Guys was such an explosive investigation — the article detailed Selebi’s links to key figures in the same criminal network.
Agliotti, who has since been named as “the Landlord” in an international narcotics syndicate, was arrested for Kebble’s murder last November. All indications are that Agliotti has become a cooperative witness and has given the Scorpions full details of the murder, the crime network and his relationship with Selebi.
Among allegations already reported — and denied by Selebi — is that Agliotti and Kebble’s former security consultant, Clinton Nassif, had made untoward payments to the commissioner. Nassif was another member of the network identified in the original M&G article. He too, is implicated in Kebble’s murder.
The Scorpions and their parent organisation, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), have come close to admitting, in their actions if not in words, that Selebi was a key suspect in Bad Guys. In November, the NPA tried unsuccessfully to interdict the M&G from publishing a witness affidavit which implicated Selebi further, claiming it would undermine the investigation.
Scorpions head Leonard McCarthey said, in an affidavit submitted to court at the time, that this was “one of the most extensive, complex and sensitive investigations that the DSO has ever undertaken”.
He stated: “Some of the allegations that are being investigated include allegations of targeted corruption of senior law enforcement personnel; laundering of large amounts of local and foreign currency … smuggling of drugs … the large-scale [movement of] contraband and counterfeit goods … and the assassination of individuals …”
In December, the M&G reported that the Scorpions had quizzed Selebi.
A key feature of the investigation has been the Scorpions’ gamble in giving indemnity to senior members of the syndicate in order to reach even higher.
Nassif, as well as the three hitmen in the Kebble murder, were given “Section 204” status, meaning they are indemnified if they testify truthfully about their roles in the murder. This led to Agliotti’s arrest.
Now Agliotti too is said to have struck a deal that will not see him serve a custodial sentence at all, even though he admitted during his bail hearing to a role in what he called Kebble’s “assisted suicide”. It is hard to escape the conclusion that Selebi is the ultimate target in a high-stakes gamble to scale the prosecutorial ladder to the very top, one step at a time.
In the meantime, further witnesses have been recruited. Paul Stemmet, whose Palto unit freelanced for the police under Selebi’s protection while acting in cahoots with Agliotti and others, made at least two statements. It was one of these that the NPA tried to interdict the M&G from using.
Stephen Sander, the former operations director in Nassif’s Central National Security Group, is also said to have struck a deal with the Scorpions. Early allegations held that Sander had “couriered” cash envelopes to Selebi.