Times Online
By Daniel McGrory
A casual approach at a drinks party was followed by the promise of quick profits
Snip:
MILLIONAIRE businessmen have told police how British mercenaries invited them to bankroll the alleged “timeshare coup” to seize power in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. It was given this code name because the fundraisers made it clear that there was room for only about 15 investors. Some of those who claim that they were approached by the coup organisers have described to investigators in South Africa how at lavish drinks parties they were promised that the select group who agreed to write a cheque for about £100,000 each would share a £15 million payout within weeks.
The names of all those allegedly approached by the Old Etonian Simon Mann and his associates are included on a computer disk that has been seen by detectives in Pretoria. Police have nicknamed it “The Wonga List”. A senior security source in South Africa told The Times: “The appeal for investors was that in exchange for their money they would be given documents showing how they were investing in legitimate business enterprises. “It include fish farms, mining, security contracts and aviation deals with absolutely no mention of a coup,” the source said. These men were warned that it was first come, first served, and, as well as the £1 million immediate payout, they would have first refusal on future oil concessions in Equatorial Guinea.”
Many of the millionaires asked to back this alleged “timeshare coup” are understood to have British citizenship or own expensive homes in Britain.
One businessman who has a home in Cape Town and claims that he was approached told The Times: “It was a casual conversation at a drinks party around a swimming pool in January this year about ‘a security project’ at an African mine. Looking back it was all very casual and vague but the hook was the quick profit.” The British-born entrepreneur, who has given a statement to South African investigators but asked not to be named, said: “If you showed interest then you were invited to another meeting and given more details. Once Equatorial Guinea was mentioned I declined and heard no more about it.” Lawyers representing the Government in Equatorial Guinea say that they have studied documents which identify many of the leading investors and the ringleaders behind the alleged plot.
This includes the detailed written statement that Mr Mann, 51, gave the authorities in Zimbabwe after he was arrested at Harare airport in March along with 69 men who, police claim, were part of the private army trying to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang. Mr Mann, a former SAS officer and scion of the Watney brewing empire, could be sentenced later today by magistrates in Harare. If convicted for trying to buy weapons in Zimbabwe for the botched coup, Mr Mann could face life imprisonment.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1234704,00.htmlWas Princess Diana's brother on The Wonga List - he lives half a mile away from Thatcher in the Constantia suburb of Cape Town...No one named him YET.
Times details idle rich neighbours:
Enclave of the rich offers expats the good life
From Xan Rice in Cape Town
snip:
WEALTHY expats arriving in Cape Town have a choice: a view of the beach or vineyards. Those seeking a sea view head for Clifton, where apartments overlooking the Atlantic Ocean can sell for more than £1 million. Those who opt for a more private, although no-less lavish life, choose Constantia, on the other side of Table Mountain.
Upper Constantia, where Mark Thatcher, Simon Mann, his ex-Etonian friend and co-accused in the alleged Equatorial Guinea plot, and Earl Spencer live with their familes, is, in the words of one local estate agent, “the peach of the Cape”. ...............
The influx of British expats, many of whom live here only for the summer, has sent property prices soaring to the extent that the South African Government is considering placing curbs on foreign land ownership. But the local estate agents are smiling. “The market is very strong,” June Stephens, of Blue-Chip Properties, said. “But you can see why: it is a great lifestyle around here.” Ms Stephens said that the British elite now formed a significant portion of the community. “We get a lot of lords and ladies buying property. They find the domestic help here is useful as they get older.”......
One upmarket property agent, who did not want to be named, said that Sir Mark would not be missed if he left or went to jail. “His wife was pleasant, but he was unpopular around here. He was known as rogue, and I am not suprised what has happened to him.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1234627,00.html 
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