E-mails suggest Denel tried to frustrate Oppenheimers in airport Fireblade deal
Leaked e-mails show that Denel told Fireblade it needed to get SSA security clearance to allow it to operate international flights from its luxury airport terminal
The State Security Agency (SSA) warned Denel that the company’s apparent efforts to frustrate the Oppenheimers in their Fireblade luxury VVIP terminal at OR Tambo International Airport would end up in court and had the potential to "embarrass government"‚ leaked e-mails suggest. A trail of confidential communication between the SSA and Denel — which was forwarded to a Gupta company e-mail address and now leaked to The Times — suggest that Denel tried to strong-arm the Oppenheimers out of an agreement that allowed Fireblade to operate at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo Airport. At the time of the leaked communication‚ Denel had informed Fireblade that it needed to get security clearance from SSA to allow it to operate international flights from the luxury terminal. But this had never been a condition of Fireblade’s agreement with Denel when it leased property from the arms manufacturer at the airport to operate the terminal. A leaked letter from SSA acting director-general at the time‚ Bheki...
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