SPIES R US
Arthur Fraser opens criminal case against Ramaphosa over alleged multimillion-dollar heist
The former director-general of the State Security Agency who has been heavily implicated in testimony at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry, on Wednesday opened a criminal case against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
A statement attributed to Arthur Fraser, former director-general of the State Security Agency (SSA), says that he has taken the “unprecedented” step of opening a criminal case against President Cyril Ramaphosa for allegedly concealing a multimillion-dollar robbery from the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
The former spy boss’s media statement says the case “emanates” from the alleged theft of “in excess of four million US dollars” concealed “within the premises of the President’s Phala Phala farm in Waterberg, Limpopo”. Fraser claims the theft was carried out by robbers, in collusion with Ramaphosa’s domestic worker.
Fraser claims in his statement that charges include “kidnapping of suspects, their interrogation on his property and bribery”, adding that the President allegedly “concealed the crime…” from the SAPS and SARS “and thereafter paid the culprits for their silence”.
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This is not the first time that Fraser has threatened to reveal secrets about the elected occupants of the Union Buildings. Daily Maverick in 2020 reported that Fraser informed the Zondo Commission that he would be forced to reveal “state secrets” about presidents — past and present — as well as judges and parliamentarians in his evidence.
Eyewitness News reported that the SAPS’s Colonel Athlenda Mathe said: “The South African Police Service can confirm that a case of money laundering, defeating the ends of justice and kidnapping has been registered at the Rosebank Police Station this afternoon… due processes will follow.”
A Daily Maverick editorial in 2018 noted that, “As a spook, Fraser has been involved in, at best, questionable, and, at worst, unlawful practices. And this is not only over the Principal Agent Network (PAN) programme, effectively an unconstitutional parallel intelligence operation that between 2007 and 2010 chowed an estimated R1.5-billion of taxpayers’ money.”
That same editorial noted that “Fraser was dubbed the ‘spy who saved Jacob Zuma’ after it publicly emerged that he was involved in the leaking of the so-called Spy Tapes, or National Intelligence Agency (NIA) phone taps of the then Scorpions’ leadership, later used to drop the corruption prosecution of Zuma on the eve of the 2009 elections.”
In the final days of his tenure as National Commissioner of Correctional Services, Fraser made headlines in December 2021 when he “intervened” to disregard a Medical Advisory Board recommendation that the incarcerated Zuma not be released on medical parole. DM
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I so badly want to believe that this is satire!
Attack is the best form of defence!
The last defense of a scoundrel is patriotism
One shudders to think of what actually went on behind the scenes!
The run up to the ANC elective conference in December is going to be very entertaining. The more desperate the different factions get, the more they are going to air the ANC’s dirty laundry in public and we will all get to see just who they are. This will be good for SA voters. We will no longer be able to pretend that there is a good ANC – only a bad ANC and a worse ANC. This story may well be true, and no doubt there are many more just like it.
What a bitter, frightened old man.
There are many stories about agents in Fraser’s PAN network who break into judges/journalists offices and/or homes to steal computers, information and/or just to intimidate. Another theory is simply that his PAN agents tried to steal stuff from Ramaphosa’s farm, but were caught and questioned by his security. And for whatever reason Ramaphosa’s security never reported the break in to the police (or they did and Fraser’s agents made sure the dossier was lost somewhere). So now Fraser’s is accusing Ramaphosa security of detaining (“kidnapping”) and questioning (“interrogating”) his agents. And likely use the only info they were able to obtain – that he had $4m on his property. (or was this planted evidence??)
fraser’s case does sound like a fairy tale, but will SA be surprised should this turn out to be fact? I won’t. It sounds a lot like typical anc methodology to get things done.
Our country is rotten to the core!
No doubt Fraser will find himself in a courtroom soon. This is a preemptive strike.
Is there not some way that Fraser is making himself guilty of the same offence? It is very suspicious that this is now revealed after the Zondo commission! He had the gap then but did not speak up, when did he know what, is he not guilty of concealing a crime himself?
The ANC is definitely living in the age of the Chinese proverb ‘May you live in interesting times!’
In Russia they have KGB trained operatives like Putin … in South Africa you have imitations thereof in the form of Number one …. and his acolyte Fraser !!
That is about as clear as mud. It would be helpful to have the details unpacked, as I’m sure DM will, in due course.
Methinks that this is the opening salvo of more to follow. All the “spying” and “monitoring” by Fraser and his ilk was clearly to get the dirt on opponents when the time came. Just hope Ramaphosa and his bunch are equal to the task. I cannot help thinking that while alleged events likely did take place, it was set up as a trap for future use. Anyway it seems to have hit headlines around the world and yet another distraction while the real issues are deferred yet again. The ANC is a curse on us all. Cry the beloved country!