[A-List] South Africa: water fraud & Scottish connection

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Any more details on this guy, anyone? To have emigrated in the 1970s and to
have made millions in the meantime suggests a less than glorious business
career profiting from apartheid, something that even a lazy journalist could
surely have pointed out by now. But such is the cult of entrepreneurialism
that "success" is all, regardless of how it is achieved, it seems.

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Rangers director held over new fraud charges
IAIN WILSON and ROBERT McAULAY
The Herald, 2 April 2003

DAVE King, the Rangers director and shareholder, has been arrested over
further corruption and fraud charges in South Africa.

It is alleged Mr King bribed a water utility manager to ensure contracts
would go to one of his investment firms. Mr King, who already faces 11
counts of fraud involving non-payment of almost £60m in taxes, denies all
accusations against him.

Born and raised in Glasgow, he became one of South Africa's richest
entrepreneurs on emigrating in the 1970s, and, less than three years ago,
invested £20m in Rangers. The shareholding is second only to that of David
Murray, the club's honorary chairman.

Mr King's latest charges follow allegations by David McLean, who succeeded
him as chief executive at another of his companies, Enterprise Risk
Management (ERM).

It is alleged that Mr King enticed Greg Morris, the water firm manager, to
join ERM with 400,000 share options in exchange for manipulating a contract.
Mr Morris, who did leave the water company to work for Mr King, has also
been charged.

Both men were arrested around the time ERM reached an £18m out-of-court
settlement with the water company over an aborted contract.

Mr King, who is a close friend of Gary Player, the golfer, told reporters he
was not surprised by the new charges. He added: "It was no big event unless
you consider there is probably something sinister about the timing.''

He insists the accusations, following arrest by The Scorpions - as South
African revenue investigators are known - is a ploy aimed at him to settle
his long-running and public battle with tax officials over a personal tax
demand for £162m. The Scorpions have been inquiring into his tax affairs for
almost three years, after he made £72m on selling shares in his investment
firm Specialised Outsourcing.

According to one judge's ruling in the High Court in Pretoria, which set
aside his provisional sequestration, Mr King lives in luxury although he
claims to to have no assets in South Africa.

It has also been alleged Mr King declared income of only £3500 a year to tax
authorities, although his personal wealth is estimated at around £200m.

Since the sale of Outsourcing shares, he is said to have bought a £7.8m jet
and a Ferrari, and to have two homes, a vinery, and share in a stud farm.

Of the latest charges, Mr King insisted the settlement between ERM and
Umgeni was an admission by the water utility that there had been no
corruption in connection with Mr Morris joining Outsourcing.

He added lawyers were working on an application to have the charges
withdrawn, and also on legal actions against Mr McLean.