Hawks, NPA still mum on Maharaj payments allegations

LAW-enforcement authorities are refusing to say if they will reopen their corruption probe into Mac Maharaj, despite new evidence linking the president's spokesman to secret payments by French arms company Thales.

See the full list of questions sent to Maharaj and his wife as well as his response

Last week the Sunday Times revealed how Thales had signed a secret consultancy agreement with Schabir Shaik's company, Minderley Investments, to help negotiate a driver's licence technology contract with the Transport Department, which Maharaj headed at the time.

A paper trail showed Minderley's Swiss bank account was used to transfer more than R2-million from Thales to offshore accounts in Switzerland and the Isle of Man controlled by Maharaj's wife, Zarina.

Investigators believed the money was destined for Mac Maharaj, documents show.

The secret deal was signed just two months before the Prodiba consortium, in which Thales's predecessor, Thompson CSF, held a one-third stake, was officially awarded the technology contract.

Maharaj was never formally charged and the corruption probe was abandoned.

The consultancy agreement obtained by the Sunday Times was the "missing link" that showed the flow of money between Thales, Shaik and Maharaj.

But, a week later, the National Prosecuting Authority and the police have yet to consider reopening the case.

NPA spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said it was up to the Hawks to decide.

"[The] NPA has no investigative mandate so if there is 'new evidence' the police are better placed to respond," he said.

Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela declined to comment.

During interviews this week, Maharaj denied being involved in "any bribery". But he repeatedly dodged questions over whether he received cash payments from Thales.

He also complained the Sunday Times had failed to publish his three-sentence reply - to detailed questions that ran to two pages - in full.

Explaining his reluctance to explain the payments, he said: "These issues belong to matters that were investigated by the DSO [Scorpions].

''Neither Zarina Maharaj nor I are prepared to subject ourselves to a separate and additional investigation by a member of the media based on isolated aspects of a comprehensive investigation conducted by institutions empowered by law to do so.

"The fact that the DSO did not bring any charges against us should make you alive to the fact that the insinuations and allegations of unlawful conduct of the kind implied by you may once again result in, and subject us to, character assassination and trial by a media consciously making use of selective information only."