Libyan loot leaves ANC red-faced

THE ANC's honoured guest, Muammar Gaddafi's bagman Bashir Saleh, is facing arrest and extradition over Libya's looted billions.

A Sunday Times exposé earlier this month revealed that Libyan investigators believed they had found evidence that Gaddafi stashed $1-billion (about R10-billion) in cash, gold and diamonds in four South African banks and two security companies - and Saleh held the key to finding the loot.

This week, police spokesman Brigadier Phuti Setati said Libyan authorities had been asked for a formal request for Saleh's arrest and extradition after the Sunday Times revealed that he had been seen several times in Johannesburg recently. "Libya has assured us that this is in the process with their ... authorities," said Setati.

Last year, Interpol issued a red notice against Saleh, also known as Bashir al-Shrkawi, because he is wanted in Libya for embezzlement.

Despite this he attended the ANC's centenary celebrations in Mangaung in January and the Brics summit in Durban in March.

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said he was not sure whether Saleh had been invited to the party's Mangaung celebrations because he could not find his name of the list of VIPs.

Saleh has also been seen in the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton, most recently on June 2.

"He came down the lift with us," said a Libyan source. "We asked him about the arrest warrant and he said it was nothing new."

Interpol said this week that most member states "consider a red notice a valid request for provisional arrest". But Setati said South African law required "a formal request for the arrest and extradition of a wanted fugitive" before a red notice could be acted on.

This week, Democratic Alliance MP Tim Harris said President Jacob Zuma's admission to parliament that South Africa was unable to prevent Saleh from entering or leaving the country was "shocking". Reports of Zuma's meetings with the Libyan investigators also raised questions "about the ANC's financial ties with the former Libyan dictator and whether there may have been any undue influence", Harris said.

The Sunday Times revealed that the investigators, from a Libyan company called Sam Serj that is registered in Malta, had met Zuma twice, including at Nkandla on April 20, to discuss finding the funds. Minutes show that the Nkandla meeting was attended by the Libyans, Zuma, his cousin Sibusiso Mzobe and the politically connected businessman Jackie Mphafudi.

A follow-up letter sent to the Libyans on April 23 by ANC head of security Tito Maleka stressed that their visit "with our president in Nkandla ... is an indication that the government is prepared to cooperate with you all the way".

Zuma previously confirmed the meeting through his spokesman, Mac Maharaj.

An earlier letter, sent to the ANC on December 7 and written by Sam Serj's general manager, Taha Buishi, asks Zuma to set up a presidential task team and a bilateral committee to find and repatriate the funds. It also wants support for a proposed $3-billion joint venture and a $270-million arms deal.

"There is also a signed contract between a Libyan company and the Libyan Ministry of Defence to the value of $270-million for the supply of military equipment," Buishi said. "This contract is on offer for South African companies to take part in."

Buishi's company has sought help from several South African investigators to find the loot, including a company that claimed to know "the whereabouts of a substantial portion of the hidden assets".

The investigators claimed to have evidence that the US- and UK-based security company Brinks, which specialises in moving valuables around the world, had transported a large quantity of cash and gold from Libya to OR Tambo International Airport on December 26 2010.

Brinks confirmed that it had "cooperated with the authorities" investigating "these alleged shipments", the company's general manager for Southern Africa, Charl Roberts, told the Sunday Times.

But he denied that Brinks had brought in the Libyan loot. "Brinks has not transported any funds or other valuable items from Libya to South Africa during or since the beginning of 2010."

South African banks were required by law to report any "suspicious and unusual" deposits with the Financial Intelligence Centre, its director, Murray Michell, said. Failure to do so could result in "imprisonment of up to 15 years or a fine of up to R100-million". - investigations@sundaytimes.co.za