Mystery Zimbabwean buys tobacco at liquidation auction. Tobacco believed to belong to controversial business tycoon John Bredenkamp, fetched R1.3-million at auction yesterday.

The auction of 84200kg of raw tobacco leaves in Pomana, near Kempton Park, follows a liquidation order obtained in October 2008 against a company owned by Bredenkamp.  

Aucor auctioneer Matthew Henderson sold the tobacco, which has been stored in a warehouse for the past two years, at R15 a kilogram.

The identify of the buyer could not be confirmed by either Henderson or Shirish Kalian, of Kalian and Kathrada attorneys, who is handling the liquidation of the company.

However, The Times did ascertain that the successful bidder was a Zimbabwean who was buying on behalf of another party. Bredenkamp is a friend of Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe.

The bidder refused to identify himself.

"Please, I can't give you any information," he said.

At least 10 other bidders were present, including a Chinese consortium and a Dutch businessman.

Bredenkamp, 70, trades in tobacco through Breco International, which has headquarters in Harare and manufactures Mega brand cigarettes. He also operates through Masters International Tobacco Manufacturing which is subject to the 2008 liquidation order.

The amount, however, is far less than the R78-million the South African Revenue Service maintains it is owed by Bredenkamp.

Henderson said he last year also auctioned off property and assets belonging to Masters International in Elandsfontein in Johannesburg to the value of about R4-million.

In March 2006, a heavily armed Scorpions team raided a number of cigarette importing and manufacturing businesses, some of which were owned by Bredenkamp.

In October 2008 a weekend newspaper reported that SARS had confiscated about 45million cigarettes during a raid on Masters International Tobacco Manufacturing.

At the time, SARS did not reveal why it had seized the cigarettes.

Bredenkamp, who has wide-ranging interests in the mining and tobacco industry, made his fortune trading in tobacco and arms with pariah states, including Ian Smith's Rhodesia and Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

He is rumoured to have ties with top Zimbabwean politicians.

Bredenkamp, who was stripped of his Zimbabwean passport in 2006 because he also held South African citizenship, was not present at the auction and could not be reached for comment yesterday.

He is, however, in South Africa.

The Times has learnt that 480 tons of tobacco belonging to Bredenkamp's companies is being stored in three warehouses in an around Johannesburg.

"Other normal liquidation processes will follow to recoup monies owed to SARS," said an official.

One of SARS' conditions of sale is that the tobacco is exported from South Africa - and not to any neighbouring countries.

Henderson said the auction house would provide the buyer with documentation, including customs clearance, to export the tobacco within a week.

The export of the tobacco will be closely monitored by SARS.

Adrian Lackey, a spokesman for SARS, said illicit trade in cigarettes and tobacco was costing the state R2.6-billion a year in lost tax.

By The Times (SA)