R100k 'refund' could haunt Paul O'Sullivan

FORENSIC fraud examiner Paul O’Sullivan could face a criminal complaint over allegations that he lied under oath with his claim that he has never received anything for the public interest work he performed.

ActionSA MP Dereleen James accused O’Sullivan of benefitting from funds of the Crime Intelligence Secret Services Account, also known as the Slush Fund, contrary to his claims that he did good work and never benefited from it.

She produced some documents claiming that they showed he received R100,000 from the Slush Fund pertaining to the case of the now convicted Radovan Krejcir.

“Here is the application. The cheque is made out to you from the root of all evil. You, too, have benefited from manna from heaven,” she said, prompting O’Sullivan to say “it is not true”.

O’Sullivan was being questioned by members of the Ad Hoc Committee investigating claims made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that the country’s criminal justice system had been infiltrated by external individuals including politicians.

James accused O’Sullivan of lying under oath to Parliament during his testimony.

“Because you lie, as ActionSA, we will be laying criminal charges against you,” she added.

O’Sullivan stated that he would not sit and listen to lies peddled by James.

He claimed the money did not come from the Slush Fund, but the now-defunct Scorpions.

“It was a refund for money I spent,” he said, before complaining that James was making distracting gestures while addressing him during his explanation.

O’Sullivan stated that he was reimbursed for expenses incurred at the request of the Directorate of Special Operations, which was previously known as the Scorpions.

He said the money was for additional security arrangements he put in place for a witness, who was afraid for his life, and for the use of his aircraft by the Scorpions.

“The amount I spent was in excess of half a million, and they contributed R100,000. It was not paid from Crime Intelligence. It was paid from the NPA funds. The honourable member is wrong when she says I lied when I denied receiving money from the Slush Fund.”

O’Sullivan told the Ad Hoc Committee that there was an arrangement between him and the Scorpions to incur expenses and that he was to be reimbursed.

He said one of the people who were on his aircraft was former NPA’s Gerrie Nel and another person whom he could not remember.

But, James would hear none of his explanation, saying he was telling “hogwash”, which contradicted what was in the documents

“The proof speaks for itself,” she said.

In response, O’Sullivan said: “I am not in the business of providing hogwash. I stated, and I will read that I have not been reimbursed for public interest work.

“I spent vast sums of money in the interest of making South Africa safer for all,” he said.

O’Sullivan said he had been asked to provide extra service to pay for security enhancement for a witness and not what he chose.

Cape Times