Special Hearings — Chemical And Biological Warfare Hearings — 1998-07-07

MR VALLY: So you manufactures 1000 kilograms of ecstasy and these were delivered in certain batches.  Who were they delivered to?

DR MIJBURGH: The MDMA was delivered to Dr Basson or in his capacity as representative of the Defence Force, as project officer.

MR VALLY: Delivered to him personally?

DR MIJBURGH: Excuse me?

MR VALLY: Was it delivered to Dr Basson personally?

DR MIJBURGH: I cannot recall exactly how the delivery took place.

MR VALLY: You're the Managing Director of a company, here's a substance where you're concerned about getting arrested and prosecuted, you go so far as to ask the Surgeon-General for an indemnity, but you don't know anything about security regarding delivery.  You were responsible for it until it was in the hands of the project officer, this is what General Knobel told you in TRC 77(a), but  you can't tell us what happened to it.

DR MIJBURGH: I had full confidence in Dr Koekemoer, that his security measures would be sufficient.

MR VALLY: Do you know Steven Beukes?

DR MIJBURGH: Repeat please.

MR VALLY: Do you know Steven Beukes?

DR MIJBURGH: Yes.

MR VALLY: Tell us how do you know him.

DR MIJBURGH: Mr Beukes was an employee at Delta-G Scientific, and later on he became the manager of Medchem Pharmaceuticals.  I knew him in the Defence Force, he was in the Army at the same time as I was.

MR VALLY: Are you aware that there's an allegation that you asked Steven Beukes to put MDMA into capsules?

DR MIJBURGH: I am not aware.

MR VALLY: Are you denying that you did it?

DR MIJBURGH: Yes, I did not give him such an order or place such a request at all.

MR VALLY: Are you aware of a front company called Kowolsky International?

DR MIJBURGH: Kowolsky International was never a front company of the Defence Force.

MR VALLY: Was it a private company?

DR MIJBURGH: It was a private company, yes.

MR VALLY: And who were the directors of Kowolsky International?

DR MIJBURGH: Drs Kowolsky, I was a director as well and Mr Ben van den Berg as well.

MR VALLY: Did Kowolsky International ever receive an order or a delivery of ecstasy?

DR MIJBURGH: No.

MR VALLY: Why are you so certain?

DR MIJBURGH: You are referring to how the transaction was structured for the MDMA order and we did this - at that stage Kowolsky International was an affiliate company of Medchem.  It was structured in such a way that in the first place, for purposes of VAT or GST, I'm not sure which one it was at stage and secondly, we wanted Kolwolsky's figures to look a bit better, so it was instructed by Kowolsky.  It was a transaction on paper.

MR VALLY: Let me get clarity here, it was a paper transaction which may have shown that certain drugs went to Kowolsky International, we're talking specifically ecstasy.

DR MIJBURGH: Yes, if you are referring to the MDMA, it was a paper transaction which was structured by it, yes.

MR VALLY: So when we say that Kowolsky International, of which you were director, possibly were the final recipients of the ecstasy, it was all just a paper transaction for tax purposes?

DR MIJBURGH: Correct.

MR VALLY: How would you use a private company for these purposes?

DR MIJBURGH: It was a subsidiary of Medchem and at that state, Delta-G was also a subsidiary of Medchem.

MR VALLY: But Kowolsky International is not a front company?

DR MIJBURGH: No.

MR VALLY: Medchem is a front company?

DR MIJBURGH: No.

MR VALLY: And Delta-G is a front company?

DR MIJBURGH: Delta-G at one stage was a front company, yes.

MR VALLY: If Delta-G is a subsidiary of Medchem as a front company as Kowolsky is a subsidiary of Medchem, I fail to understand why you say Medchem wasn't a front company.

DR MIJBURGH: A front company I would regard as a company, to use the English words, where the beneficial owners of the company were the Defence Force.  They were never the owners in the case of Medchem and Kowolsky.  I cannot think of the Afrikaans term at the moment, but the beneficial owners.

MR VALLY: Who set up the chemical for Medchem Technologies?

DR MIJBURGH: Medchem Consolidated Investments.

MR VALLY: Was that a military front company?

DR MIJBURGH: No.

MR VALLY: Who gave them the capital?

DR MIJBURGH: I gave it myself.

MR VALLY: You personally put up the capital for that?

DR MIJBURGH: Correct.

MR VALLY: Which was a holding company for Delta-G?

DR MIJBURGH: It was in the privatisation process of Delta-G, it became the holding company, yes.

MR VALLY: We're talking 1985, when you started?

DR MIJBURGH: No, we're talking about 1989.  Medchem was established or taken over by the auditors in '89.

MR VALLY: In '89 you say that Delta-G was no longer a front company?

DR MIJBURGH: It's difficult to say exactly when, one could say that it was no longer a front company, but during the privatisation process which took place from 1991, Delta-G changed from a front company to a company of private ownership.

MR VALLY: We have a myriad of front companies, and I've given you a list of 100 and some odd.  You mentioned Kowolsky International wasn't a front company, but a private company, but was used in paper transactions to conceal actions of the front companies, including for the drugs.  Do I understand you correctly, maybe I'm tangling myself a bit, let me start again.  Kowolsky International as a private company of which you were director is the final recipient of ecstasy, purely for the purposes of VAT?

DR MIJBURGH: No, it was not the final recipient, there was a transaction via Kowolsky International to Medchem Technologies.

MR VALLY: And they were involved in between regarding the drug ecstasy?

DR MIJBURGH: For the paper transaction, yes.

MR VALLY: I see.  How would you mix private companies and front companies like this, wouldn't that be a major security risk?  Wasn't Dr Kowolsky a foreign citizen?

DR MIJBURGH: He was, yes.

MR VALLY: So what about the security risk?

DR MIJBURGH: There was no security risk, Mr Vally.

MR VALLY: Dr Mijburgh, you're concerned about being prosecuted for this substance, you actually write and ask for an indemnity, you have a foreign doctor who is a director of a company, you have ecstasy, MDMA or Baxil, all the same thing, being manufactured on a large scale by a Government institution, and you tell me there's no security risk.  Is that logical?

DR MIJBURGH: Yes, Dr Kowolsky was not aware of what the substance was and in his capacity as Managing Director of Kowolsky International, it was a very nice transaction which made the figures look much better.

MR VALLY: Were you a director of any air-charter company?

DR MIJBURGH: No.

MR VALLY: Are you aware of Aeromed Services?

DR MIJBURGH: I know the name, yes.

MR VALLY: Are you aware whether it was a front company?

DR MIJBURGH: I do not know.

MR VALLY: Are you aware of Global Air-charters (PTY) Ltd?

DR MIJBURGH: I am aware of that company too, yes.

MR VALLY: Were you involved in it?

DR MIJBURGH: No.

MR VALLY: Are you aware if it was a front company?

DR MIJBURGH: I do not know whether it was a front company or not.

MR VALLY: Did you ever use the services of these two companies?

DR MIJBURGH: Yes, I think we did use Global, I'm not sure about Aeromed.

MR VALLY: What for?

DR MIJBURGH: To rent an aeroplane.

MR VALLY: To fly where?

DR MIJBURGH: I can remember that we went to Malawi with a chartered plane.

MR VALLY: Because from what I can understand, potentially you had all the resources at your disposal to manufacture and airlift drugs to any part of the world.  Potentially you could have done that, do you agree or disagree?

DR MIJBURGH: It's most probably possible, Mr Vally.

MR VALLY: Let's talk about 1000 kilograms of ecstasy, we're talking huge money here if it was put into capsules.  We're talking anything from R600 million to R1 billion, is that correct?

DR MIJBURGH: I do not know what the value of that is.