THE DEPUTY NATIONALCOMMISSIONER
DIRECTORATE FOR PRIORITY CRIME INVESTIGATION
Lt Gen A Dramat
SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
Honourable Mr T Godi
Chairperson: Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA)
Parliament
PO Box 15
CAPE TOWN
STATUS OF THE BAE AND GFC INVESTIGATIONS
Further to your letter dated 24 June 2011, it is once again reiterated that there is, and was, no intention on the side of this office, not to give due consideration to the oversight and monitoring function of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
If my letter dated 5 November 2010 created the impression that the DPCI does not have the capacity or the desire to investigate the BAE and GFC matters, I wish to rectify such a perception by stating that capacity and willingness were not factors which were taken into account to close the investigation. What I referred to in my letter is that the prospects of finding and securing relevant evidence after all these years are bleak and that any further investigation into this matter will have to start afresh.
It is not the practice of the police to reveal the names of, or information regarding suspects in criminal investigations, especially where such persons have not appeared in a court of law in respect of any charges levelled against them. It is conceded that the name of the late Minister of Defence, Mr. Joe Modise was mentioned as a possible suspect in my letter to you, as the late Minister's name is already in the public domain.
As far as the latest information is concerned, I have already instructed two officials to, on an informal basis, approach the relevant authorities in both Sweden (National Anti- Corruption Unit) and the UK (Serious Fraud Office).
Subject to approval by these authorities, the two officials will, assess the available information with a view to determining whether there is information which points to a crime(s) in South Africa, whether this information has evidential value in South Africa or whether it could be converted into relevant evidence by means of formal mutual legal assistance processes.
It is also important to determine from the mentioned authorities what their investigations have revealed and whether the information obtained by them can be shared with the DPCI.
It is unfortunately not possible at this stage, to link any precise timeframes to the envisaged assessment in view of the time consuming approval processes. It is not known the period of time it will take before the mentioned entities respond and the availability of dates and personnel in these jurisdictions to assist the DPCI. We will endeavour to conduct the assessment in the shortest possible time.
Kind regards,
Signed: Anwar Dramat
LIEUTENANT GENERAL
HEAD: DIRECTORATE FOR PRIORITY CRIME INVESTIGATION
DEPUTY NATIONAL COMMISSIONER: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
July 27 2011
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