BRITAIN | ZIMBABWE | SOUTH AFRICA

The arms and the menInvestigators are probing multimillion pound payments from Britain through secret accounts to a key ally of President Robert MugabeBritain's BAE Systems, the world's fourth biggest arms company, has paid over £25 million (US$49.5 mn.) to a company whose majority Zimbabwean shareholder is a long-time business ally of President Robert Mugabe's regime. The multiple investigations into BAE's role in the affair, which appear to be nearing conclusion, are likely to have serious political repercussions in Britain and South Africa. The recipient of the payments was British Virgin Islands-registered Kayswell Services, whose signatories include majority shareholder John Bredenkamp, Jules Pelissier and Graham Andrews, according to company records seen by Africa Confidential. BAE made the payments in mid-2003 through its Red Diamond Trading subsidiary, also registered in the British Virgin Islands. Within a year, Kayswell had transferred more than £10 mn. to Bredenkamp.You can read the rest of this article at www.africa-confidential.com.