US authorities have implicated Cape Town multimillionaire Walter Hennig, an associate of politician-businessman Tokyo Sexwale, in the bribery of officials of three African countries for mining rights, notes a Business Day report. It says Hennig’s Palladino Holdings entered a joint venture named Africa Management with US hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and Sexwale’s Mvelaphanda Holdings in 2008 to invest in natural resources.

Och-Ziff announced in 2014 that US authorities were investigating it for bribery in Africa. The report states that in the first overt sign that the probe encompasses the activities of Och-Ziff’s South African partners, US authorities arrested Samuel Mebiame, the son of a former Gabonese Prime Minister on Tuesday. Mebiame had allegedly worked as a fixer for Palladino, Africa Management and a mining company in which they were invested, according to the report.

It says the criminal complaint against Mebiame, filed in New York, alleges Mebiame ‘routinely (paid) bribes to foreign government officials’ to get mineral rights for the companies. It does not identify Hennig by name, but refers to ‘coconspirator #1’, to whom it alleges Mebiame reported directly.

Co-conspirator No 1 is identified as the ‘beneficial owner’ of a company in the offshore haven of Turks and Caicos, a reference to Palladino. Hennig’s lawyer has confirmed his client was the beneficial owner. He reportedly said yesterday (Wednesday) he was unable to reach Hennig or Palladino for comment.

Among others who are alleged to be complicit, the complaint identifies ‘coconspirator No 2’ as an employee of the joint venture – a reference to Africa Management. The report says although Sexwale’s Mvelaphanda appears to have withdrawn from the joint venture due to Reserve Bank strictures, Mvelaphanda CE Mark Willcox stayed on as Africa Management CE.

Willcox’s lawyer denied yesterday that his client was a co-conspirator, according to the report which states the complaint contains no detail pointing to him specifically. The complaint alleges bribery in Guinea, Niger and Chad.

Full Business Day report (subscription needed)

Mebiame was charged with conspiring to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, notes a report in The New York Times. The complaint did not name the fund, but its description matched that of Och-Ziff Capital Management, which has been in talks with the US authorities to resolve probes into its involvement in bribes paid to African officials, according to the report. It says the arrest of Mebiame (43) came after he voluntarily met with federal law enforcement in June 2015 to discuss his role in paying bribes to secure mining concessions for the joint venture, the complaint said.

A report in The Wall Street Journal says Mebiame did not enter a plea when he appeared in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday and remains in custody. The report says Mebiame told US investigators he was paid $3.5m for providing various services to the venture. He was also given an ownership stake in venture, the complaint said. The report states that in 2009, when a dispute arose over Mebiame’s ownership interest, he threatened to turn the information over to the press if he wasn’t given his ownership stake, according to the complaint. The dispute was ultimately resolved and Mebiame continued working for the venture, the complaint said.

Full report in The New York Times

Full report in The Wall Street Journal

African officials say Mebiame’s arrest may help pull back the curtain on a long-running foreign corruption scandal that has ensnared the giant hedge fund founded by Daniel Och, notes another report in The New York Times. Och-Ziff, which manages more than $39bn in assets, has previously disclosed that it is the focus of a foreign bribery investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission over whether it paid bribes in Zimbabwe, Congo and Libya. Och-Ziff has told investors that it is nearing a settlement with the government and that it has set aside more than $400m toward a resolution, according to the report.

Full report in The New York Times