It may be justice time for Stephen Mildenhall, once of Allan Gray.

JOHANNESBURG - News from the Jackie Selebi trial in Johannesburg, where the erstwhile national police commissioner is accused of corruption and defeating the ends of justice, is that Glen Agliotti and John "Turtle" Stratton could face charges for the shooting, thankfully non-fatal, of Stephen Mildenhall*, previously boss at Cape Town-based money manager Allan Gray.

Mildenhall, who has since departed the country with his family, was shot outside his home in the early evening two weeks before the murder of Brett Kebble, in Johannesburg, on the night of September 27 2005. Agliotti, a convicted drug trafficker, has long been charged with Kebble's murder; Stratton remains a fugitive in Australia, where he denies everything and anything.

Clinton Nassif, and others involved in the murder, have so far been granted immunity from prosecution in return for giving evidence against certain others. It is thought that Agliotti's dysfunctional testimony in the Selebi trial, where he was billed as the star witness, may have attracted the possibility of the Mildenhall charges being activated.

This is the completed jigsaw. Just over a month before Kebble's murder, an avalanche of news hit the market: Kebble had stepped down as CEO of JCI, Randgold & Exploration (R&E) and Western Areas, all listed on the JSE; the first two had been suspended from trading on August 1.

Among others sacked was Kebble's father, Roger Kebble. Stratton, a Brett Kebble confidant, was booted off the board of JCI, the Kebble mothership. At this point in time, Allan Gray held roughly 25% of each of JCI, R&E and Western Areas. The three entities had been looted by Kebble and his cronies starting in 1996.

In August 2005, the boards of JCI (JSE:JCD) and R&E were dissolved and reconfigured to house directors mostly connected directly or indirectly with Investec, the niche financial services outfit that had agreed to provide JCI (JSE:JCD) with a R460m standby loan facility, conditional on the departure of Kebble and his cronies. Investec's David Nurek waltzed in as chairman of JCI (JSE:JCD) and R&E, and as a director of Western Areas, where, importantly, he would chair the remuneration committee, and oversee the implementation of a phantom share scheme that would substantially benefit three executives, mainly new Western Areas executive Chairperson Gill Marcus, now governor of the South African Reserve Bank.

Kebble's heavy looting of Western Areas started in November 1998, when he sold half of South Deep, the developing deep level gold mine west of Johannesburg, for $235m to Toronto-based Placer Dome, subsequently taken over by Barrick, the world's biggest gold digger. In February 2002, Kebble sold the South Deep derivatives "gold hedge" book forward for $104m. Investec (JSE:INPR) was one of three banks on the other side of the hedge book, which turned out to be one of the most toxic in gold mining history.

On November 6 2002, in recognition of Allan Gray's ongoing support of Western Areas, Sandy McGregor, an Allan gray executive, was appointed to the Western Areas board of directors.

According to summarised forensic reports published by Randgold & Exploration (R&E) in the public domain, R&E alone was looted by Kebble and his cronies of R1.9bn in cash, by way of shares stolen from R&E, laundered mainly through JCI, and then sold on the open markets for cash. According to R&E, it was effectively looted of a further R1bn in other ways, such as selling fresh shares in R&E for cash, and allocating the cash for looting. The sum total of R2.9bn in cash is impressive.

Western Areas had been left battered. Kebble, believing that South Deep was the best asset under his control, via JCI (JSE:JCD) and Western Areas, would recycle lots of stolen cash back into Western Areas. In August 2008, Gold Fields, which had bought all of South Deep, and killed its hedge book, costing all together a princely $3bn, was indirectly sued by R&E for receiving R519m in stolen cash. Gold Fields (JSE:GFI) has, of course, denied any liability.

As the year 2005 churned on, so it was that increasing pressure was bought to bear on Kebble and his viper's nest of foul and atavistic cronies. In August 2005, Investec (JSE:INPR) bailed out JCI (JSE:JCD) for good reason. Investec (JSE:INPR) was heavily interested in preserving Western Areas, at least until its hedge book matured, something that would take many years. Investec (JSE:INPR) relied heavily on Allan Gray's support, as a major shareholder of the key Kebble entities, in giving Kebble and his gang marching orders.

It is clear that Kebble saw Allan Gray's role in his vanquishing from JCI, R&E and Western Areas as unbearable. Ian Liddle, an Allan Gray executive, confirmed in March 2006 that "we agreed to support the reconstitution of the boards of JCI, R&E and Western Areas in August 2005". For that, Mildenhall took bullets.

Write to Barry Sergeant: barry@moneyweb.co.za

*Stephen Mildenhall was one of Moneyweb’s most popular market commentators, before he was shot, to learn more read:
Liddle becomes Allan Gray CIO
Replaces Stephen Mildenhall who is emigrating; Arrie Lugtenburg also leaving SA.
Mystery shootings shock asset managers

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Does everyone in SA loot and steal aboslutely everything they can get their hands on? I mean many readers say No its the BEE guys or ANC etc etc, but take a look around, it seems everyone and their dog is taking any opportunity to loot SA's public and private institutions. maybe i should consider emigrating... to the . .more moon or something. . .less by Young Black on November 24 2009, 13:19 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

I think it will be aesier to convict the killer of Roger Rabbit than to nail a conviction on the demise of B.K. by Plutarch on November 24 2009, 13:39 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

I like pigs I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down to us. Pigs treat us as equals. by Nick Nack on November 24 2009, 13:58 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

That was a good summary. Well done BS, no critique from me this time. by . on November 24 2009, 14:10 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Alec publish a list of all those government dudes who atended Kebbles funeral All crooks, all of them? Must be. But then what is new in the murder and corruption land called South Africa. Someone must write a book on how the Africans destroyed the place so quickly. At least they are good at something. by Sad on November 24 2009, 15:06 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

At least At least Brett had an eye for good art. Turned out to be his only valuable asset. by R2D2 on November 24 2009, 15:15 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@Young Black You are absolutely right, it is not a particular part of the population that has been robbing this country. Thinking of all the financial scandals we have been experiencing, the culprits have come from all racial groups. It is . .more about time that all honest people stand up and be counted. . .less by Rine on November 24 2009, 16:02 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@SAD - At the funeral... Among those present at the funeral were Mo Shaik, brother of Schabir Shaik, former Springbok hooker James Dalton, Western Cape ANC leader James Ngculu, as well as provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha, property mogul Pam Golding, former head of the . .more special investigating unit Willem Heath, businessmen Tokyo Sexwale and Saki Macozoma, TV personality Dali Tambo and minister in the office of the presidency, Essop Pahad, who is to deliver the main eulogy. From The Citizen of 4 Oct '05 . .less by cynic on November 24 2009, 16:05 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

summary "The sum total of R2.9bn in cash is impressive." indeed it is. pity there are no BEE's involved, so the comments section wont attract the usual vagrants... by ike on November 24 2009, 16:20 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@SAD not only black govt officials crooked in this counrty, the selebi case proved to us all, how crime & violent crime is orchestrated and committed by white people too. If Clinton Nassif can hire someone to assinate BK, he can surely easily get somone . .more to rape you and your loved ones too. So get off your high Govt bashing horse and accept the fact that white people in SA are just as corruptable as their fellow non-white countrymen. Care to comment on how poor the Gerrie Nel prosecution team appears in this case thus far? . .less by KK on November 24 2009, 16:56 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@KK: they are but this is pretty much the rare exception who has learned to rig the system. Every country on earth has these. But really, the destruction of the nation's infrastructure on a massive scale is something quite different and is sadly being perpetrated by black people in . .more black-controlled institutions, backed by a government that has socially engineered and continues to play russian roulette with the country's future. You find this Ok? . .less by Dave on November 24 2009, 17:38 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

2004 Did itr not all happen in 2004? by 2004 on November 24 2009, 18:11 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Gill Marcus Barry please explain how Gill Marcus substantially benefitted from Western Areas??? by Oracle of Delmas on November 24 2009, 18:30 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

theft is theft is theft Colour is not the issue. A criminal is a just a criminal. Be he/she black/white, educated/uneducated, kind/savage, doctor/lawyer, high society/working class, religious/secular. One thing in common: A CRIMINAL by R Mugaybe on November 24 2009, 20:56 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

The rot started in 1652 with the VOC and Jan van R, and got worse The "venality" of the VOC's personnel (in the sense of corruption and non-performance of duties), though a problem for all East-India Companies at the time, seems to have plagued the VOC on a larger scale than its competitors. To be sure, the . .more company was not a "good employer". Salaries were low, and "private-account trading" was officially not allowed. Not surprisingly, it proliferated in the 18th century to the detriment of the company's performance.[31] From about the 1790s onward, the phrase perished by corruption (also abbreviated VOC in Dutch) came to summarize the company's future. . .less by Piet Pompies on November 24 2009, 21:46 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@ Piet Pompies May I suggest, as a good read Anna Boeseken " Jan van Riebeeck en sy kinders" as it would give you more insight into the period than the normal information you got at school. The fact is that if a company has to invest heavily in capital . .more infrastructure like they did at the Cape (where there was nothing at the time), it will take years before the return on the invetsment will materealise. There were also numerous other challenges like the constant loss of ships at sea and disease which made it extremely difficult to make a profit. When JVR came here in 1652 at the age of 30, after spending 5 months at sea, they had to start from scratch with absolutely nothing, no hardware store, no grocery store no hospitals for sick people plus constant theft of cattle. Imagine arriving here with you wife and kids and there is basically nothing. I am no NAT supporter but at least give credit where credit is due and don't just sensationalise the story for the sake of it. . .less by Jan van Riebeeck Jnr on November 25 2009, 08:31 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Ike Opposition to the ANC by many posters is based on disgust at their venality, not race, as many of its defenders claim. There are plenty of crooked whites and plenty of honest, decent blacks, But "birds of a feather" the ANC attracts the . .more worst of all race groups. In THAT respect, it is equal-opportunity. . .less by Vagrant on November 25 2009, 08:59 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

I look foward to the book This story has legs. by x on November 25 2009, 10:55 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@jan v riebeeck jnr there was NOTHING? Really? That's the problem with racism and bigots you assume that NOTHING according to you means NOTHING to the conquered. Societies value different things..ie. Others valued cattle more than cash, etc. it doesn't make one . .more NOTHING and the other something!! So, maybe you meant they found NOTHING they considered useful, including the people. . .less by bushie on November 25 2009, 15:48 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

To Sad... F... Off So why don't you pack up & get your white A** out of this country ! by George on November 26 2009, 21:07 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

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