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Robert Finn (bishop)

Robert William Finn (born April 2, 1953) is an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph from 2005 until his forced resignation in 2015.

Finn is the only American bishop to be convicted of failure to report a priest suspected of child sex abuse to government authorities.

Early life
Robert Finn was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 2, 1953, the second of five children of Theodore (Pat) and Betty Schneider Finn. He has three sisters— Kathleen Fornwalt, Patricia Bax, and Nancy Meyer —and one brother, Richard Finn.

Finn completed his elementary education at All Souls Catholic School in Overland, Missouri. He studied for the priesthood at archdiocesan seminaries and in Rome. He is a 1971 graduate of St. Louis Preparatory Seminary North, and received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree at Cardinal Glennon College in Shrewsbury, Missouri, in 1975. While a seminarian at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Finn earned a Master of Theology degree in 1979 from the Angelicum University. Finn served as a deacon in 1978 to 1979 at Saint Charles Borromeo Parish in the Archdiocese of Westminster in England.

Priesthood
On July 7, 1979, Finn was ordained a priest by Bishop John Nicholas Wurm for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis at All Souls Parish Church. After his ordination, Finn was named as associate pastor of two parishes in the archdiocese. He was later appointed to the faculty of Saint Francis Borgia Regional High School in Washington, Missouri, where he taught from 1983 to 1989. During those years, he lived in residence and served as part-time pastoral associate in area parishes.

In 1989, Finn received a Master of Education Administration degree from Saint Louis University and was appointed administrator of St. Dominic High School in O'Fallon, Missouri. During his tenure at St. Dominic's, he assisted the pastors of area parishes. He served the St. Dominic High School community until 1996.

In 1996, Finn was appointed director of continuing formation of priests and, in 1999, while continuing as CFP Director, he was named editor of the St. Louis Review, the weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis.

Finn was named by Pope John Paul II as a chaplain to his holiness in August 2003, upon the recommendation of the Archbishop Justin Rigali. Finn served in several other capacities including chairman of the archdiocesan Committee on the Diaconate. Finn served as pastor of Our Holy Redeemer Parish in Webster Groves, Missouri, prior to being appointed the coadjutor bishop of Kansas City.

Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
On May 3, 2004, Finn was named by John Paul II as coadjutor bishop (with right of succession) of the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph. Finn was consecrated by Cardinal Raymond Burke at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City. He also became a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus.

On May 24, 2005, the Vatican accepted Bishop Raymond Boland's request for retirement. As coadjutor, Finn automatically succeeded Boland as sixth bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Finn became a member of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, which is linked to the Catholic personal prelature Opus Dei. In an interview with the Catholic Key, Finn told of how Opus Dei had helped open his heart to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Upon his arrival in the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph in 2005, Finn said that vocations to the priesthood and religious life would be 'super-priority' for his diocese. Before Finn's arrival, in the 2003/2004 seminary school year, the diocese reported having nine seminarians. For 2007/2008, the diocese reported that there were 24 men studying for diocesan priesthood.

In March 2006, Finn invited to his diocese a small order of Benedictine nuns, now titled Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. The entire order moved from its place of founding, Scranton, Pennsylvania.

, Finn served on the Administrative and the Priorities and Plans Committees for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and had been chairman of the Task Force on the Life and Dignity of the Human Person.

Sex abuse scandal
In May 2011, Finn apologized for his failure to act in a more timely manner in the case of Reverend Shawn Ratigan, who was accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior with children. Finn had received a letter in May 2010 from a Catholic elementary school principal, reporting numerous instances of inappropriate behavior by Ratigan. Finn said he failed to read the letter. Finn's admission came five months after the diocese discovered inappropriate pictures of children on Ratigan's computer, and a week after the he was arrested on child pornography charges.

On June 9, 2011, Finn appointed former U.S. Attorney Todd P. Graves to conduct an independent investigation of diocesan policies and procedures used to address sexual misconduct by church personnel, including Ratigan. Finn also announced the appointment of an independent public liaison and ombudsman. In a September 2011 report, Graves said "that Diocesan leaders failed to follow their own policies and procedures for responding to reports" of sexual abuse by clergy.

On October 14, 2011, a county grand jury indicted both the diocese and Finn with failing to inform police about child pornography, a criminal misdemeanor. According to the indictment, the diocese became aware of those images on December 16, 2010. Rather than reporting it to law enforcement, Finn ordered Ratigan to undergo psychiatric evaluation, then sent him to a convent under orders to have no contact with children. During that time, Ratigan proceeded to take more inappropriate pictures of children he met through church contacts. Without Finn's approval, other diocesan officials finally reported Ratigan to police on May 11, 2011. Ratigan eventually pleaded guilty to five counts of producing child pornography and was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.

While other bishops had been charged with directly perpetrating abuse, Finn was the first U.S. bishop to be charged in his role as a supervisor of priests, the first criminal case against a sitting bishop in the child sex abuse scandal in the American Catholic Church. Finn was convicted on one charge in September 2012 and sentenced to two years of probation. All charges against the diocese itself were dropped.

In September 2014, the Vatican initiated an apostolic visitation to the diocese, conducted by Archbishop Terrence Prendergast. The director of SNAP called the investigation "overdue". Cardinal Sean O'Malley from the Archdiocese of Boston criticized Finn's actions in a November 2014 interview with the television news program 60 Minutes. O'Malley said that Finn's conviction for failing to report suspected child abuse would disqualify him from teaching Sunday school in the archdiocese. "It's a question that the Holy See needs to address urgently," O'Malley said.

Resignation
On April 21, 2015, the Vatican announced that Finn had resigned as bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph without providing any reason. In 2016, Finn became chaplain of the School Sisters of Christ the King Convent in Lincoln, Nebraska. As of July 2018, he had largely limited himself to this role, but has made occasional public appearances.

Tridentine mass
In August 2005, Finn encouraged use of the Tridentine mass in his diocese. This was in accord with indult provisions established during Pope John Paul II's tenure. Finn also welcomed the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest to the diocese to celebrate mass at St. Patrick's Oratory, the oldest church in Kansas City, Missouri.

Abortion
In a pastoral letter published in the October 24, 2008, issue of the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Key, Finn referenced the upcoming 2008 US presidential election: "'Our Catholic moral principles teach that a candidate’s promise of economic prosperity is insufficient to justify their constant support of abortion laws, including partial-birth abortion, and infanticide for born-alive infants. Promotion of the Freedom of Choice Act is a pledge to eliminate every single limit on abortions achieved over the last thirty-five years. The real freedom that is ours in Jesus Christ compels us, not to take life, but to defend it.'"

title: Robert Finn (bishop)


text:
Wikipedia:Toby

This is Toby.

Sometimes, we see things we don't like to see. Sometimes, we really don't like to see them. Sometimes, we don't want other people to see them. Sometimes we just wish we could make them all go away.

Well, we can't all have everything we want.

Some of us want to be able to see everything -- and some of us want to be able to see everything everywhere.

Well, we can't all have everything we want.

It's probably a bad idea to say that a picture is a bad thing. Maybe the picture is a bad thing, but if we start by saying one picture is bad, then soon we will want to say another picture is bad. Before you know it, we will start to fight about more and more pictures. We can't all agree which pictures are bad and which are not bad. Besides, everyone has different reasons for saying something is bad. It's a mess.

Toby is here to help with all this. If you see Toby, you know he is watching. You will not see anything anybody does not want you to see.

If you see something you don't think your friends should ever see, just put Toby there. Don't say anything more, because we don't want to start a fight. Just tell Toby. It's enough.  Censored Discussion Available Censored Version This discussion has been censored by removing the inline display of all images, including a fat old tenor in a tux. Of course, much potentially questionable content remains, but it's all in the text and in the links. Uncensored Version This discussion contains everything -- potentially questionable remarks, nudity, violence, images, trademarks, and a fat old tenor in a tux. Not for those who may be offended.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Wikipedia:Toby


text:
Talk:Xenon tetroxide

Question
How do you dissolve a compound in water which detonates at any temperature above ~40 degrees below the freezing point of water?!?--Deglr6328 05:42, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Dissolve the gas in an inert gas like helium to very low concentration and than bubble ut through water. This would be by suggestion.--Stone 09:02, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Formula changes
Someone should verify the truthfulness of my correction of the reaction equations to take into the account that there is no completely deprotonated xenate ion.--Jasper Deng (talk) 23:19, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Xenon multiple bonds with Nitrogen?
Can we get nitrido or immido complex of Xenon(VIII) just like that of Osmium? eg. XeO3(NCMe3), Xe(NCMe3)4, [Xe(N)O3]- etc... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anoop.m (talk • contribs) 13:15, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

title: Talk:Xenon tetroxide


text: User talk:69.163.11.237

title: User talk:69.163.11.237


text: User talk:84.65.128.193

title: User talk:84.65.128.193


text:
Talk:Eli Lilly and Company

Loss in market cap “caused by” tweet
The article cited in this talk page explicitly states “Were the fake Twitter accounts responsible for the drop in share price? Hard to say. Lot’s o’ things can affect a company’s stock price.” Therefore, the article shouldn’t suggest causality when the cites source does not. Furthermore, given the fairly modest percentage movement on the day in question, the event likely doesn’t warrant inclusion in the article, as ~4% movements in share price are not particularly rare. 2600:1011:B321:CB83:75D5:2EE:7108:B16E (talk) 19:38, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

 * I agree that the Twitter incident has turned out to be a mere blip and does not need to be in the article at all. It especially doesn't need to be mentioned in two successive paragraphs giving contradictory statements as to what the tweets contained. Also, the sources don't appear to see any connection with the tweets and the changes in insulin pricing, which is implied in the paragraphs in question. Indyguy (talk) 20:01, 30 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you, 2600:1011:B321:CB83:75D5:2EE:7108:B16E and Indyguy, for raising these concerns. I appreciate the critical reading and thorough analysis.
 * I understand the concern over the statement's implication of direct causality between the Twitter incident and the drop in stock price. It's indeed essential that we base our content on reliable sources and ensure that we do not misrepresent or overstate their conclusions.
 * However, I'd like to provide some counterpoints for consideration:
 * Significance of Misinformation: While the cited source doesn't confirm causality, the incident itself does highlight the potential dangers and implications of misinformation, especially on platforms as widely used as Twitter. It's a pertinent topic in today's digital age and provides an illustrative example in the context of major corporations.
 * Connecting Events: It's true that ~4% movements in share prices might not be rare. However, the context of such a movement following a significant misinformation incident makes it noteworthy. It's less about the percentage and more about the potential influence of fake news on stock prices, even if the causality isn't explicitly confirmed.
 * Clarification in the Article: Given the concerns, we can modify the wording in the article to indicate a potential correlation rather than a direct causation, making sure to align it closely with the source's language. This would provide readers with the information without misleading them about the degree of connection.
 * Changes in Insulin Pricing: We can also rephrase to ensure that the connection between the tweets and insulin pricing changes isn't overstated. The intention was to chronologically present significant events, but I acknowledge the risk of implying a cause-and-effect relationship that might not be substantiated by the sources. Ushistorygeek (talk) 17:02, 9 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Agree with Indyguy and the IP editor. This, at best, belongs in Twitter-related articles, not here. This non-event might warrant inclusion if Eli Lily sued Twitter or if it even completely stopped advertising on Twitter (neither of which is the case). I've left it as it to see if there are any other inputs. In the meantime, I removed another sentence which duplicated this. Ptrnext (talk) 06:04, 26 September 2023 (UTC)

Missing sources
in you added references to ":12" and "usdoj-200902", but these aren't defined in the article. Will you be able to provide these references for the article, or should the unsourced material be removed? -- Mikeblas (talk) 18:29, 9 September 2023 (UTC)
 * They're the same refs used for that statement later in the article, but with "2" appended. I've fixed them. -- Fyrael (talk) 17:00, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Eli Lilly and Company


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Yndamiro Restano

 This page is an archive of the proposed deletion of the article below. Further comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was Delete. --Ryan Delaney talk 05:23, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

Yndamiro_Restano
Political acusation of an individual. This page appears to be a poorly written ALL-CAPS stub on a person of questionable notability, and consists of what appears to be a political acusation of loyalties. Does not seem to have any factual basis, or usefulness. Either a real article needs to be written, or the page deleted. Dmeranda 21:09, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Borderline speedy unless someone coherent rewrites this to actually say why he should be in an encyclopedia. Delete. Meelar (talk) 21:14, August 22, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete; Bashing, conspiracy, unfounded, nn | Celcius 21:26, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, for the obvious and already-stated reasons. Steve Summit (talk) 22:15, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
 * See Notes from the Cuban Underground
 * On February 6, 1996 Yndamiro Restano was awarded the golden pen by the International Federation of Daily Editors which represent more than 15,000 dailies in 100 countries. This group declared Mr Restano, " a pioneer in the struggle to restore a free and independent press in Cuba. He has demonstrated his courage in face of adversity and has paid with his own person for defending his convictions."

This is bashing of a notable individual, delete and add his name to the requested articles list. - Mgm|(talk) 11:11, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.


text:
3C (radio station)

3C was a United Kingdom radio station, based in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, Scotland and was provided by Radio Clyde, owned by Scottish Radio Holdings, later bought by EMAP Radio. It played country music.

Its sister stations were Clyde 1 and Clyde 2.

On 26 March 2007, the station told listeners that it was closing at the next day, stating that
 * "It is the result of a brand review undertaken by our parent company, which operates a large number of radio stations and other media interests."

At 5pm on 27 March 2007, they played their final song (Tennessee by The Wreckers) and began re-broadcasting Clyde 1 on Freeview to see out the final year of the five-year contract.

Successors
Bauer Radio launched Downtown Country in April 2015 as a sister service to Downtown Radio in Northern Ireland. The station is available on the Northern Ireland DAB multiplex. In 2019 Bauer launched a new contemporary country music station, Country Hits Radio, on DAB in various locations following a similar "contemporary country" format as 3C did.

Other country stations have also been made available to digital listeners. Chris Country launched on DAB radio in 2016 broadcasting to several regions including London and Manchester using newer DAB+ technology. Global launched Smooth Country in 2019, initially as an online stream through Global Player before expanding to a broadcast DAB station that September.

title: 3C (radio station)


text:
The Newport Daily News

The Newport Daily News is a six-day daily newspaper serving Newport County, Rhode Island. It publishes in the mornings on weekdays (Monday through Friday) and in the morning on Saturdays. The Daily News was the state's largest family-owned newspaper until it was purchased by Gatehouse Media in 2017.

History

Until its sale to Gatehouse Media, the Daily News had been locally owned since it was founded in 1846. It was named "Newspaper of the Year" by the New England Newspaper Association in 1991, 2001 and 2004.

In 1970, the newspaper moved from Thames Street in downtown Newport to an office on Malbone Road in the northern part of the city, shortly after the completion of the nearby Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge. In 2018, Sherman Publishing put the Malbone Road property up for sale; the paper continued to be based out of the building until new office space could be found. In March 2019, the paper's office moved to Middletown, Rhode Island. Journalist Jim Gillis was a reporter for the Daily News from 1980 to 2013 and was well known on Aquidneck Island for his weekly "Spare Change" column, which he continued to write until his death in April 2023.

Sherman Publishing
Edward A. Sherman Publishing Company, the family-owned publisher of the Daily News, also prints three free weekly newspapers in southern Rhode Island: Mercury, a Wednesday alternative weekly covering Bristol, Newport and Washington counties; the Friday Newport Navlog, the U.S. Navy's oldest base newspaper (founded 1901), covering Naval Station Newport; and Ocean State Independent, mailed to non-Daily News subscribers on Aquidneck Island.

The company also owned South County Newspapers, which publishes The Independent, a weekly newspaper covering the towns of South Kingstown (including the villages of Kingston, Peace Dale and Wakefield and the University of Rhode Island), Narragansett and North Kingstown. The Independent, formerly based in Wakefield, now shares office space with the Newport Daily News and Mercury in Newport.

All of Sherman Publishing's publications were purchased by Gatehouse Media, which also owns The Providence Journal, in November 2017.

In June 2018, Gatehouse sold South County Newspapers, The Independent and South County Life magazine, to Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers. In November 2018, publisher William Lucey and editor-in-chief Jon Zins both departed from the newspaper.

Newport Mercury
The Mercury, another publication of the Daily News, traces a lineage as one of the oldest newspapers in the USA. The history of that publication dates back to 1758 when the widow and son of James Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's brother, established the Newport Mercury as a weekly publication, making Ann Franklin the first woman in the Colonies to publish and edit a newspaper.

The Mercury was published regularly up to the time the British Army occupied Newport in December 1776 when the press and types were buried. (The press, also used by Solomon Southwick to print copies of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, can be seen in the Museum of Newport History in downtown Newport.) After the British evacuated Newport in November 1779, the Mercury was issued again.

The Mercury was the first paper to publish poetry by an African American woman, Phillis Wheatley.

The Mercury was acquired by Edward A. Sherman, owner of the Newport Daily News in 1928. It continued as a subscription weekly published by the Newport Daily News until March 2005, when it was relaunched as a free alternative newsweekly under the editorship of Janine Weisman. The current iteration of the paper covers arts, entertainment, food and culture in Newport County.

Since the Mercury ceased publication during the Revolutionary War and was acquired by Sherman in 1928, Hartford Courant and the Mercury's publisher have a longstanding debate over which is older. The Courant has long identified itself as the longest "continuously published" newspaper in the United States and most scholarly articles attribute it as such.

In April 2018, it was announced by editor Janine Weisman that the Mercury would no longer publish a weekly print edition, effective with the April 27 issue. The paper would continue as a monthly insert of the Newport Daily News. The first of these new monthly Mercury editions was published on June 7, 2018 as both an insert in the Newport Daily News and as a stand-alone free newspaper. This monthly edition of the Mercury was no longer being published by the time Weisman left the Daily News in August 2019.

Prices
, The Newport Daily News prices are:
 * Digital edition – $9.99 monthly or $59.99 per year
 * Print edition delivery and digital edition $32 for eight weeks

title: The Newport Daily News


text:
User talk:Nosaj56

Non-free rationale for File:Teeny.jpg
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Orphaned non-free image File:MaxRobinson.gif
Thanks for uploading File:MaxRobinson.gif. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in section F5 of the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. --B-bot (talk) 19:28, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

title: User talk:Nosaj56


text:
George Hall (baseball)

George William Hall (March 29, 1849 – June 11, 1923) was a professional baseball player who played in the National Association and later the National League. Born in Stepney, England, Hall later immigrated to the U.S. He made his professional debut on May 5, 1871. While playing for the Louisville Grays, he was banned from Major League Baseball after an 1877 gambling scandal.

Early career
Prior to the inception of professional leagues, Hall played for the Brooklyn Atlantics. He commenced his professional career with the Washington Olympics of the National Association in 1871, hitting .294 in 32 games. He played for the Baltimore Canaries in 1872 and 1873 seasons, hitting .336 and .345 respectively. Playing mostly center field up to this point, he shifted from center to right field the following year when he played for the 1874 champions, the Boston Red Stockings. After just one season with the Red Stockings, he moved on to play for the Philadelphia Athletics, where he had another good season at the plate, hitting .299, with four home runs, which placed second in the league behind Jim O'Rourke's six.

National League
After the 1875 season, the National Association folded, which left room for a new league to begin. In 1876, the National League came into existence, the first official "Major League". Hall's team, the Athletics, followed that movement with very little success, finishing seventh out of eight teams. One of the bright spots that year for the Athletics was the hitting prowess of their star hitter, Hall. He led the team in almost all major hitting categories including a .366 batting average, 51 runs scored, and a league leading five home runs. On June 17, 1876, he became the first Major League baseball player to hit two home runs in one game. Those five home runs stood as the single season home run record until Charley Jones hit nine in 1879.

For the 1877 baseball season, Philadelphia had been expelled from the league for refusing to go on a western road trip, late in the 1876 season, for financial reasons, so Hall moved on to play for the Louisville Grays. Again, he had an excellent season, hitting .323, scoring 51 runs, and hitting 8 triples. Surprisingly, after appearing in the league leaders for home runs the last two seasons, he did not hit one in 1877.

Possible first cycle
Some baseball researchers attribute Hall as being the first major league player to hit for the cycle. In a game against the Cincinnati Red Stockings on June 14, 1876, Hall had five hits. Contemporary newspaper accounts agree that four of the hits were a home run, a single, and two triples; there is disagreement as to if the remaining hit was a double (which would complete the cycle) or another triple. The first undisputed major league cycle is attributed to Curry Foley of the Buffalo Bisons of the National League in 1882.

Gambling scandal and banishment
On October 26, 1877, Louisville club vice president Charles Chase confronted Hall and fellow Gray Jim Devlin with charges that they threw some road games in August and September. Both admitted only to throwing non-league games, one of which was an exhibition game in Lowell, Massachusetts, on August 30, and another in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 3. The admissions also implicated teammates Al Nichols and Bill Craver. Newspapers nicknamed Hall "Gentleman George". Hall claimed that he and Devlin helped in losses to the Cincinnati Reds on September 6 and to the minor league Indianapolis Blues on September 24‚ but he argued that since the Reds were about to be suspended and the games nullified‚ it amounted to an exhibition game. As a result of the scandal, all four players were banned for life from Major League Baseball.

Hall died in Ridgewood, New York, at the age of 74. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

title: George Hall (baseball)


text: Talk:Wabash National

title: Talk:Wabash National


text: Talk:WellPoint, Inc.

title: Talk:WellPoint, Inc.


text: Talk:Emmis Corporation

title: Talk:Emmis Corporation


text:
Talk:Stuffo

After finishing this article, I clicked on "Save page" and my browser crashed. Distraught, I killed the task and reloaded the page. Wikipedia had saved the whole article despite Internet Explorer's best attempt to stop it. Thank you Wikipedia, you rock. Crazym108 21:11, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Hi guys, just wanted to drop a note and let you know that I edited this article to note that Stuffo is no longer an active site. I'm an employee at HSW, and wanted to update the article to be accurate. -4.79.226.110 17:33, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

title: Talk:Stuffo


text:
Proxy marriage

A proxy wedding or proxy marriage is a wedding in which one or both of the individuals being united are not physically present, usually being represented instead by other persons (proxies). If both partners are absent, this is known as a double proxy wedding.

Marriage by proxy is usually resorted to in one of two situations: either a couple wish to marry but one or both partners cannot attend (for reasons such as military service, imprisonment, or travel restrictions); or a couple lives in a jurisdiction in which they cannot legally marry.

In most jurisdictions, the law requires that both parties to a marriage be physically present: proxy weddings are not recognized as legally binding. Under the English common law, however, if a proxy marriage is valid under the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated (the lex loci celebrationis) then it will be recognised as valid in England and Wales.

History

Starting in the Middle Ages, European monarchs and nobility sometimes married by proxy; by the end of the 19th century the practice had largely died out. Some examples of this are:

 * Henry IV to Joanna of Navarre, the daughter of Charles d'Évreux, King of Navarre, on April 2, 1402
 * Lorenzo de'Medici to Clarice Orsini, in 1469
 * Catherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur, in 1501
 * Margaret Tudor to James IV, in 1503
 * Mary Tudor, Queen of France, to Louis XII, in 1514
 * James VI and I to Anne of Denmark, on 20 August 1589
 * Anne of Austria to Louis XIII, on October 18, 1615
 * Charles I of England to Henrietta Maria of France, on May 1, 1625
 * Marie Antoinette to Louis-Auguste, on April 19, 1770
 * Napoleon I of France to Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise, in 1810

In 1490, Maximilian of Habsburg (the future Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I) married Anne of Brittany by proxy; he was represented at the wedding by Wolfgang von Polheim. As part of the symbolism of the proxy wedding, on the wedding night Polheim went to bed with Anne but wore a full suit of armour, covering all but his right leg and hand. A sword was placed between them in the bed.

A famous 17th-century painting by Peter Paul Rubens depicts the proxy marriage of Marie de' Medici in 1600.

During the First and Second World Wars, there were many proxy marriages between soldiers serving at the front and women back at home; they often participated in the wedding ceremony via telephone.

During the First World War, proxy marriage was permitted by law in Belgium, France, Germany, Norway, Czechoslovakia and Italy. On 4 April 1915 proxy marriage was legalised in France.

During the Second World War, proxy marriages were common in the US, UK, Soviet Union and Nazi Germany where obtaining leave to return home and marry was difficult or impossible. During this period, Kansas City, Kansas, in particular was known for its permissive proxy-marriage laws; one lawyer in the city helped to arrange 39 proxy weddings.

In Italy, between 1945 and 1976, 12,000 women were married by proxy to Italian Australian men; they would then travel to Australia to meet their new husbands.

Today
, various Internet sites were offering to arrange proxy and double-proxy marriages for a fee, although the service can generally be set up by any lawyer in a jurisdiction that permits proxy marriage. Video conferencing allows couples to experience the ceremony together. A unique "space wedding" took place on August 10, 2003, when Ekaterina Dmitriev, an American citizen living in the U.S. state of Texas, where the ceremony was performed, was married by proxy to Yuri Malenchenko, a cosmonaut who was orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station at the time.

Gambia
Proxy marriage is legal in The Gambia under sharia law.

India
Proxy marriages via video link are legal in India, including when the parties are in separate countries, provided witnesses are present.

Pakistan
Proxy marriages, including via the telephone, are legal in Pakistan. However, witnesses must be present and the marriage correctly registered.

United States
In the United States, proxy marriages are provided for in law or by customary practice in Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and Montana. Of these, Montana is the only state that allows double-proxy marriage. Proxy marriages cannot be solemnized in any other U.S. states.

In 1924, a federal court recognized the proxy marriage of a resident of Portugal, where proxy marriages were recognized at the time, and a resident of Pennsylvania, where common-law marriages could be contracted at the time. The Portuguese woman was allowed to immigrate to the United States on account of the marriage, whereas she would have been inadmissible otherwise due to being illiterate. Internet marriages have increased among some U.S. immigrant communities in recent years.

During the early 1900s, United States proxy marriages increased significantly when many Japanese picture brides arrived at Angel Island, California. Since the early 20th century, it has been most commonly used in the United States for marriages where one partner is a member of the military on active duty. In California, proxy marriage is only available to deployed military personnel. In Montana, a double-proxy marriage is available if at least one partner is either on active military duty or is a Montana resident. In the United States if a proxy marriage has been performed in a state that legally allows it many states will recognize it fully or will recognize it as a common law marriage. An exception to this is the state of Iowa, where it is completely unrecognized.

Germany
Germany does not allow proxy marriages within its jurisdiction (§ 1311 BGB). It recognizes proxy marriages contracted elsewhere where this is possible, subject to the usual rules of private international law, unless the foreign law should be incompatible with German ordre public (art. 6 EGBGB): this is not the case with the marriage by proxy per se, but would be if, e. g., the proxy was held responsible for choosing the spouse without further asking rather than only contracting a marriage with a given spouse.

United Kingdom
Proxy marriage was argued for in the House of Commons by Jennie Adamson in 1943.

In 2014 it was reported that "proxy marriage misuse" was common in the UK, in which an EU citizen and non-EU citizen, both living in the UK, participated in a proxy marriage in an outside country. These were sham marriages which allowed one spouse to gain EU citizenship. This was particularly the case with nikah marriages in Islam, which are conducted under Sharia (Islamic) law.

Citizens Advice Scotland warns that "It may be extremely difficult to prove that a marriage by proxy is a valid marriage, both legally and for claiming benefits."

Catholicism
Catholic canon law permits marriage by proxy, but requires officiants to receive authorization from the local ordinary before proceeding.

Judaism
Jewish law permits marriage by proxy. The process includes the groom sending the worth of a small denominational coin (שוה פרוטה), to the bride as discussed in Tractate Kiddushin Second Chapter. All Rabbis agree that it is preferable to betroth in person based on the dictum "It is more fitting that the mitzva be performed by the man himself than by means of his agent".

הָאִישׁ מְקַדֵּשׁ בּוֹ וּבִשְׁלוּחוֹ הָאִשָּׁה מִתְקַדֶּשֶׁת בָּהּ וּבִשְׁלוּחָהּ הָאִישׁ מְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת בִּתּוֹ כְּשֶׁהִיא נַעֲרָה בּוֹ וּבִשְׁלוּחוֹ Translation: A man can betroth a woman by himself or by means of his agent. Similarly, a woman can become betrothed by herself or by means of her agent. A man can betroth his daughter to a man when she is a young woman, either by himself or by means of his agent.

Islam
Nikah marriages in Islam may be permitted by proxy, simply by both parties (or representatives on their behalf) exchanging declarations.

title: Proxy marriage


text:
User talk:Wikiraptor

Welcome!

Hello,, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers: I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Where to ask a question, ask me on my talk page, or place  on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome! D. J. Bracey (talk) 21:12, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
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title: User talk:Wikiraptor


text: Category:English domestic cricket competitions


text:
User:Idarvol

fr:Utilisateur:Idarvol

Hello!
I have a problem with English. Here, I only wikilink pages.

title: User:Idarvol


text:
Miha Baloh

Miha Baloh (21 May 1928 – 6 December 2022) was a Slovene actor. He started participating in local theatre productions after the Second World War and eventually enrolled in the AGRFT in Ljubljana, from where he graduated in 1952. In 1953, he began collaboration with the Permanent Slovene Theatre in Trieste. There he worked with the director Jože Babič who also offered him his first major film role. From 1967, he also worked on international productions on projects such as the Austrian TV comedy series Leni, German films on Winnetou and a French-German series on Omer Pasha. He continued to work in the theatre throughout his career.

Baloh died on 6 December 2022, at the age of 94.

title: Miha Baloh


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Halesia

Halesia, also known as silverbell or snowdrop tree, is a small genus of four or five species of deciduous large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae.

Range
They are native to eastern Asia (southeast China) and eastern North America (southern Ontario, Canada south through Florida and eastern Texas, United States).

Description
They grow to 5 - 20 m tall (rarely to 39 m), and have alternate, simple ovate leaves 5–16 cm long and 3–8 cm broad. The flowers are pendulous, white or pale pink, produced in open clusters of 2–6 flowers, each flower being 1–3 cm long. The fruit is a distinctive, oblong dry drupe 2–4 cm long. All species except H. diptera have four narrow longitudinal ribs or wings on fruit; diptera only has two, making it the most distinctive of the group.

Species

 * Halesia carolina L. ; little silverbell – eastern North America (syn. H. parviflora Michx. or H. tetraptera var. parviflora (Michx.) Schelle )
 * Halesia diptera Ellis ; two-wing silverbell – southeastern North America
 * Halesia macgregorii Chun ; Chinese silverbell or Macgregor's silverbell – eastern China
 * Halesia tetraptera L. ; common silverbell – eastern North America; which includes a variety treated by some as a full species:
 * Halesia monticola (Rehd.) Sarg. ; mountain silverbell – southern Appalachians and southwards (syn. H. carolina var. monticola Rehder ; H. carolina subsp. monticola (Rehder) A.E.Murray ; H. tetraptera var. monticola (Rehder) Reveal & Seldin )cf.

Halesia monticola is the largest of the genus, with specimens up to 39 m tall known in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina; the second-largest is H. macgregorii, reaching 24 m in China. The others rarely exceed 10 m tall. H. monticola is considered by some to be a subspecies of H. carolina (aka H. tetraptera). However, there appears to be a consistent size difference between the two taxa.

Taxonomy
The taxonomy and naming of the American species is confused and extensively disputed. The first dispute is over the exact identity of the specimen first named by Linnaeus as H. carolina; some contend that it is the same as H. parviflora, while others say it is the same as H. tetraptera. The second dispute is over whether H. monticola is sufficiently distinct from the other species to merit specific recognition or not (with its varietal placing depending on the above question, too). Neither question has yet been conclusively answered. The treatment here includes both H. carolina (small) and H. monticola (large).

A phylogenetic study suggests that Halesia is not monophyletic and as a result, the Chinese species Halesia macgregorii has been transferred into a new genus Perkinsiodendron, named after American botanist and Styracaceae expert Janet Russell Perkins.

The genus was named after Stephen Hales by John Ellis, publishing the name in the tenth edition of Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1759. The name is conserved as the same name had been used in an obscure earlier publication in 1756 for a different plant.

Fossil record
One fossil endocarp of †Halesia crassa has been described from a middle Miocene stratum of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.

Cultivation and uses
Silverbells are popular ornamental plants in large gardens, grown for their delicate pendant flowers in late spring.

title: Halesia


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Felinae

Felinae is a subfamily of the Felidae and comprises the small cats having a bony hyoid, because of which they are able to purr but not roar. Other authors have proposed an alternative definition for this subfamily, as comprising only the living conical-toothed cat genera with two tribes, the Felini and Pantherini, and excluding the extinct sabre-toothed Machairodontinae.

Characteristics
The members of the Felinae have retractile claws that are protected by at least one cutaneous lobe. Their larynx is kept close to the base of the skull by an ossified hyoid. They can purr owing to the vocal folds being shorter than 6 mm. The cheetah Acinonyx does not have cutaneous sheaths for guarding claws.

Taxonomy
The term 'Felini' was first used in 1817 by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim, at the time for all the cat species that had been proposed as belonging to the genus Felis. In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock also subordinated the following genera to the Felinae that had been proposed in the course of the 19th century: Lynx, Puma, Leptailurus, Prionailurus, Pardofelis, Leopardus, Herpailurus, Neofelis and four more.

The Felinae and Pantherinae probably diverged about 11.5 million years ago. The genera within the Felinae diverged between 10.67 and 4.23 million years ago.

Today, the following living genera and species are recognised as belonging to the Felinae:

Phylogeny
The phylogenetic relationships of Felinae are shown in the following cladogram:

title: Felinae


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Fernando Arêas Rifan

Fernando Arêas Rifan (born 25 October 1950) is a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church from Campos, Brazil. Since December 2002 he has been the Apostolic Administrator of the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, also known as the Priestly Union of Saint Jean-Marie Vianney. For some years before 2001 he was allied with Priestly Union when it defied the Holy See by routinely using unauthorized liturgical forms and associated with the Society of St. Pius X. He helped negotiate the reconciliation of the Priestly Union with the Holy See in 2001.

Life
Fernando Arêas Rifan was born in São Fidélis in the diocese of Campos, Brazil. He studied at the minor seminary of Mary Immaculate and then from 1968 to 1974 at the major seminary in Campos. He was ordained a priest of that diocese on 8 December 1974.

He was secretary to the bishop in 1975–1976, diocesan consultant from 1975 to 1982, pastor of the parish of "Nossa Senhora do Rosário" in Campos from 1976 to 1986), director and professor of the "Três Pastorinhos" college in Campos from 1983 to 2002.

He joined the Priestly Union of Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, founded by Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer, Bishop of Campos, who had refused to accept in his diocese the revision of the liturgy of the Roman Rite by Pope Paul VI. On 30 June 1988, Rifan acted as assistant presbyter at the episcopal consecration without papal authorization of four Catholic priests by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Castro Mayer.

The Priestly Union reconciled with the Holy See in 2001–2002 and Pope John Paul II established the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney on 18 January 2002. Rifan represented the Priestly Union in the negotiations with the Holy See that resulted in that reconciliation. The newly reconciled Bishop Licínio Rangel was named apostolic administrator and Rifan was appointed its vicar general.

To ensure the status of the apostolic administration as he had promised, Pope John Paul named Rifan coadjutor bishop of the apostolic administration and titular bishop of Cedamusa on 28 June 2002. He received his episcopal consecration on 18 August 2002 from Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, assisted by Rangel and Archbishop Alano Maria Pena of Niterói.

Apostolic administrator
On Rangel's death on 16 December 2002, Rifan became head of the Apostolic Administration.

In his first pastoral letter, Rifan stressed the importance of the papal mandate given him. He also warned against heresy and praised the traditional Latin liturgy and liturgical discipline as a defense against it. He counseled members of the Apostolic Administration against schism, demonstrated by "a general taste for systematic criticism of Church authorities, a spirit of resistance, disobedience, disrespect, suspicion, backbiting, independence from the Church's Hierarchy and Magisterium, contentment with the abnormality of the situation, uncharitableness, a feeling of owning the whole of truth, a sectarian attitude that made us out to be the only good people".

In a pastoral letter on the election of Pope Benedict XVI, Rifan declared his loyalty and quoted Pope Pius XII: "They, therefore, walk in the path of dangerous error who believe that they can accept Christ as the Head of the Church, while not adhering loyally to His Vicar on earth." He also stated that a "situation of separation of traditional Catholics from the hierarchy, provoked by the crises in the Church, besides being abnormal, must be temporary and momentary; it should inspire in us an anxiety for regularization and union rather than a complacency with our situation."

In a May 2003 interview with La Nef, Bishop Rifan spoke of the Apostolic Administration's relations with the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) as follows: We have tried to be as friendly as possible with the SSPX and its superiors, but after we had informed them that we had serious reasons for continuing our contacts with Rome, which they did not intend to keep up, they began to criticize us severely, attempting also to dishonour us by putting in doubt our intentions and trying to create divisions among our faithful. After our recognition by the Holy See, the SSPX leadership removed our name from the lists of traditional Masses and began to foster Masses in the areas where we celebrate. Does that mean that the traditional Mass is good only when it is cut off from the Hierarchy? But thank God our faithful distinguish between love for the traditional Mass from the evil attitude that makes the traditional Mass a banner to wave against the Hierarchy.''

The SSPX and other traditionalist groups reproached Bishop Rifan for concelebrating Mass according to the revised rite on 28 May 2011 and other occasions. They underscored his participation in concelebrations, an innovation of the Second Vatican Council.

In 2013, Rifan reviewed and approved the publication of a guided version of John Paul II's catechism.

title: Fernando Arêas Rifan


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Samuel B. Maxey

Samuel Bell Maxey (March 30, 1825 – August 16, 1895) was an American soldier, lawyer, and politician from Paris, Texas. He was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and later represented Texas in the U.S. Senate.

Early life and education
Samuel was born in Tompkinsville, Kentucky, on March 30, 1825. His parents were Rice and Lucy (Bell) Maxey. His father was a lawyer, and in 1834 he moved the family to Albany, Kentucky, to take a position as the County Clerk for Clinton County, Kentucky. In 1842 young Maxey got an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Although he consistently ranked near the bottom of his class, Maxey did graduate in 1846 and was commissioned a Brevet second lieutenant.

Career
Maxey was assigned to the 7th Infantry Regiment, which was engaged in the Mexican–American War. Maxey joined the regiment in Monterrey, Mexico. Maxey was cited for gallantry and brevetted first lieutenant for his actions in the battles of Cerro Gordo and Contreras in the summer of 1847. He also participated in the battles of Churubusco and Molino del Rey. He received a brevet promotion and was placed in command of a police company in Mexico City.

In June 1848 Maxey was transferred to Jefferson Barracks in Missouri, and the following year he resigned from the army. He returned to Albany, read law with his father Rice Maxey and they began a joint practice when Samuel was admitted to the Bar in 1851. He married Marilda Cass Denton on June 19, 1853. In October 1857, father and son moved their families to a small farm they purchased just south of Paris, Texas. They resumed a joint law practice here as well.

American Civil War
Samuel was elected the district attorney for Lamar County, Texas, in 1858 and was a delegate to the state's Secession Convention in 1861. That same year he was elected to the state Senate, but never served, preferring military duty. His father, Rice Maxey, was elected to replace him. Samuel had been given authority by the Confederate government in September to raise a regiment as its colonel.

In December, Colonel Maxey led his 1,120-man Ninth Texas Regiment from Bonham, Texas, to join General Johnston at Memphis, Tennessee. However he was soon separated from his regiment and set to building bridges near Chattanooga, Tennessee. On March 7, 1862, Maxey was promoted to brigadier general to rank from May 4. The regiment was badly mauled at the Battle of Shiloh, but he was not present. In fact he saw very little action during this period. He did see action at the Siege of Port Hudson in 1863.

In December 1863, General Maxey was assigned as commander of the Indian Territory. His early success in conducting raids and capturing supplies prevented a Union Army invasion of Texas. He was assigned to duty as a major general by General Edmund Kirby Smith, but this appointment was never approved for this rank by Confederate President Jefferson Davis nor confirmed by the Confederate Senate. In 1865 he was ordered to Houston, Texas, to take command of a Division. He turned over command of the Indian Territory to Brigadier General Stand Watie, a Cherokee, on February 21, 1865, and proceeded to Houston, Texas.

Maxey's new command was plagued by desertions and his inability to get supplies and equipment. Frustrated and discouraged, he was allowed to resign on May 22, 1865. He returned home to Paris, and formally surrendered in July to Union Major General Edward Canby (E.R.S. Canby). Although nominally a prisoner of war, he remained at home on parole.

Later political career
As a senior officer of the Confederacy, Maxey was not eligible to hold political office or even practice law. In October 1865 he began his appeal for a presidential pardon. He was finally successful when President Andrew Johnson pardoned him on July 20, 1867, after a personal appeal from Maxey's former West Point classmate Ulysses S. Grant. He resumed the practice of law in Paris.

In 1872 he ran for the U.S. Congress, but lost in the Democratic Party Primary to William P. McLean. In 1873, Governor Edmund J. Davis offered Maxey an appointment to the Texas District Court, but he declined due to prior involvement as a lawyer with cases before the court.

In January 1875, the Texas Legislature elected him to the United States Senate where he served two terms, from March 4, 1875, until March 3, 1887. He improved postal and rail service in Texas and argued against increased tariffs. He took little interest in larger national or party affairs. The legislature named the more dynamic John H. Reagan to replace him.

Maxey returned to the practice of law in Paris, this time with his wife's nephew Benjamin Denton and Henry William Lightfoot. The latter of the two later married Maxey's adopted daughter Dora Maxey. When his nephew, Sam Bell Maxey Long, joined the firm in 1892 he finally retired. He died on August 16, 1895, at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where he had gone for treatment of an intestinal problem. Samuel and Marilda are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Paris. The townhouse that he built there in 1867 is now a state historical site on South Church Street and is open to visitors.

Legacy
Camp Maxey was a World War II infantry-training camp and associated facilities. It was occupied from July 1942 to early 1946 in Lamar County, Texas. The facility near Paris, Texas was named Camp Maxey in honor of Confederate Brigadier General Samuel Bell Maxey.

title: Samuel B. Maxey


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Schabir Shaik trial

The Schabir Shaik trial was an important court trial in post-apartheid South Africa. The case, tried in the Durban and Coast Local Division of the High Court before Judge Hilary Squires, established a fraudulent and corrupt relationship between Durban-based businessman Schabir Shaik and former South African leader Jacob Zuma.

Shaik's writing off of Zuma's significant personal loans in 1999 had raised suspicions about their financial activities. After Shaik's brother, Chippy Shaik, was suspended from the Department of Defence for his involvement in the 1999 Arms Deal, Schabir Shaik was arrested in 2001 for the possession of secret documents, after which investigators found that he was involved in corrupt dealings with Zuma as well as fraud. He was brought to trial in October 2004, pleading not guilty. After Shaik's petition of appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal failed he started to serve his sentence of 15 years on 9 November 2006.

Shaik's trial was the subject of intense media attention due to the involvement of several high-profile members of the South African government. Though Shaik claimed that his financial dealings were legitimate, on 30 May 2005, the Durban High Court handed down its final judgment. He was pronounced guilty of corruption for paying Zuma 1.2 million Rand (US$185,000) to further their relationship and for soliciting a bribe from the French arms company Thomson-CSF, now Thales, as well as guilty of fraud for writing off more than R1 million (US$154,000) of Zuma's unpaid debts.

Judge Squires sentenced Shaik to two terms of 15 years for corruption and one term of 3 years for fraud, to be served concurrently. Following the decision, Zuma stepped down from his seat in Parliament, though he remained deputy president of the African National Congress at that time. Thabo Mbeki, the standing President, sacked Zuma as his deputy. Zuma was later elected as the president of the ANC.

Shaik then attempted an appeal at the Supreme Court of Appeal. However, all five judges under President Craig Howie unanimously rejected his appeal, and agreed the correct sentence had been given over a year prior.

Zuma's return from exile
When apartheid ended, many former exiled African National Congress (ANC) leaders returned home to financially ruined lives, such as Jacob Zuma, one of the most important Zulu ANC members. Appointed MEC for Economic Affairs and Tourism in KwaZulu-Natal in May 1994 by the new ANC government, he thought that he needed much more than his salary from that position to make up for the time he spent fighting.

Schabir Shaik, a member of the wealthy and important Shaik family of Durban, proved to be important in reestablishing Zuma's life. They had a profitable and discreet business relationship, which was only visible in a few unusual and incomplete documents and contracts, most of which were undated, and some were signed in the wrong places. Almost every document dealt with interest-free loans with no specified date of repayment. In 1999, Shaik wrote all the loans off without any explanation.

Shaik, who was Zuma's financial advisor at the time, knew that Zuma could never afford to repay the sum of the loans on his salary. He also knew, since he had access to all of Zuma's financial records, about unpaid home loans, an overdraft of 66,500 Rand (US$10,200) in an account with Nedbank, one of South Africa's largest banks, another debt owed to Wesbank, and more money borrowed but not owed yet to Permanent Bank and Standard Bank. He knew that every month Zuma spent more money than his salary, and that he was writing bad cheques and failing to meet debit card payments. Shaik did not expect to be paid back, however, as he was buying influence with Zuma, which was used to win government contracts for his company, Nkobi Holdings.

Through a series of share transactions, Nkobi Holdings merged with the French company Thomson-CSF, one of the largest arms companies in the world. On 21 May 1996, Thomson Holdings, the name of the newly merged corporations and now a South African company, was established. The first joint ventures Thomson made bids for were not for arms: instead, they made bids for an upgrade to Durban International Airport, a new ID Card for South African citizens, expansions to the N3 and N4, a new mobile phone network, and new smart card technologies.

Arms deal
Thomson Holdings, through its South African subsidiary, was seeking influence in government circles in this period, as the change from the National Party government to the ANC government had left it with few influential friends. To get an arms contract, it would need strong political backing. Fortunately for Shaik, his brother, Chippy, was in charge of arms acquisition at the Department of Defence. Chippy indicated that he would facilitate matters for Thomson Holdings if its 'position' regarding Chippy and his friends proved acceptable. Otherwise, he would make things difficult.

The international end of the company also invested in the arms deal by buying shares of African Defence Systems, a bidder for one of the lucrative contracts in the arms deal. This bid excluded Nkobi Holdings, which was a shareholder of Thomson-CSF in South Africa—to Shaik's great consternation. In June 1996, Shaik held a meeting to tell his directors that they must gear up to bid for the electronic defence system needed to guide and protect South Africa's newly acquired corvettes. Shaik said that he would use his political connections to facilitate the contracts and tenders, because at that point both Shaik and Zuma were confident that Zuma would be made Deputy President in the post-Mandela government. Zuma was given more loans to facilitate the deal for Shaik and to help Nkobi receive more government contracts.

The first newspaper article hinting at the relationship between Zuma and Shaik appeared at this time; however, it was insignificant. Published in the Cape Times, it was squeezed in between a report about a gangster gunned down in Cape Town and a car accident that claimed the lives of three people. Later, this article was considered the first mention of the case, although in January 1997 it was a brief news story:

 * 'The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the theft of classified military documents during an armed robbery at the home of Shamin 'Chippy' Shaik, which were in his car. The suspects were reported to have fled with Shaik's wallet, watch, and briefcase, which contained the documents. Shaik was not injured. Nobody was arrested.'

Meanwhile, Shaik and Zuma wanted to establish a new venture, Nkobi Bank, to act as financial advisor to a bidding consortium on any large-scale public- or private-sector project. The bank would also compete for government and various ministry budgets as a deposit taker. Zuma was appointed as Deputy President in June 1999, and he began consolidating his assets, influence, and bank accounts.

He started by developing his traditional residential village estate at Nkandla in Zululand in the rural northern part of KwaZulu-Natal. A contractor estimated the construction on the estate at R2.4 million (US$370,000), excluding VAT. Zuma negotiated with the contractor, and the final price was reduced to R1.3 million (US$200,000). Zuma was promised that construction would take six months, but it took nine. The money for the construction was not paid by Zuma himself; instead it was paid in installments by Bohlabela Wheels, Fakude PZN, and some in cash by Durban businessman Vivien Reddy, both in person by him and on one of his company's cheques.

Nkandla development and selling influence
To finance the continued construction on his estate, Zuma took out a bond, which "Reddy signed as … guarantor for R400,000 [US$60,000]." To continue his influence on Zuma, Reddy also paid the instalments on the bond, which came to nearly R12,000 (US$1,800) a month. Despite the regular monetary inflow, Zuma's financial troubles continued due to unforeseen costs in the Nkandla development. Zuma decided, therefore, to sell his political influence. Alan Thétard, then one of Thomson-CSF's directors, met with Schabir Shaik in Durban on 30 September 1999, during the course of which it was agreed that Thétard would give Shaik money to cover Zuma's debts in exchange for Zuma's protection from the commission investigating the arms deal, and ongoing support for any future Thomson-CSF deals with the South African government.

During subsequent negotiations over the latter part of 1999, Shaik and Thétard agreed to a bribe amount of R1 million (US$154,000), and at a meeting in March 2000, Thétard, Shaik, and Zuma finalised the exchange. At this point, Zuma was in desperate need for money as the bribe was going to cover the continued construction of his Nkandla development, yet Thétard has not transferred any money to Shaik thus far. Shaik demanded an immediate response to this "extremely delicate matter" from Thétard, but Thétard failed to respond and by 19 October, Shaik in his role as Zuma's financial advisor, attempted to stop all construction on Nkandla, prompting Zuma to tell his contractors to ignore Shaik's orders. Zuma wrote a cheque for R1 million to his contractors, the payment of which was stopped by Shaik.

By late 2000, Shaik knew that the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Scorpions would be watching all financial transactions made between him and Zuma, so the international division of Thomson-CSF sent an encrypted fax to Nkobi Holdings detailing a "service provider agreement" which updated the contract signed between Nkobi Holdings and Thomson-CSF for the delivery of the Corvettes. This agreement was used to disguise the payment of the bribe. The fax, which was later obtained in a raid on Shaik's office by the Scorpions, contained a non-bribery clause next to which Shaik wrote "conflicts with intention", yet despite the careful set-up, Thomson-CSF did not transfer any money to Shaik. Subsequently, Zuma went to meet with Thétard in Paris, following which R250,000 (US$38,000) was transferred by Thomson-CSF to the "Jacob Zuma Education Fund".

As the year progressed, the relationship between Shaik and Zuma had attracted more attention, and by October 2000, South Africa's leading corruption prosecutor, Judge Willem Heath, formally asked President Thabo Mbeki for a proclamation allowing him to investigate the arms deal. Zuma immediately attacked the petition by writing a letter to Gavin Woods, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa). This letter, written in Zuma's capacity as "Leader of Government Business" in Parliament states that:

Furthermore, we are convinced that ... there is no need for the 'Heath Unit' to be involved in any 'investigation' of the defence acquisition. We hope this strange manner of proceeding was not driven by a determination to find the Executive guilty at all costs, based on the assumption we have already mentioned, that the Executive is prone to corruption and dishonesty

Trial
Schabir Shaik's trial started amid intense media circus in the Durban High Court. Shaik pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption and fraud on 10 October 2004. He asserted in his plea explanation that the State had misunderstood his dealings with Zuma. He agreed that there was a financial relationship between Zuma and him, but that it was not a corrupt one as the payments he made to Zuma were loans made in friendship. He did not ask for any interest in the loans because it "offended his religious convictions". The loans had been made on a revolving credit agreement. He also denied allegations of fraud, saying money was mistakenly written off in his company's books, but that this was later fixed. To allegations that he was involved in soliciting a bribe for Zuma, he replied that he knew nothing.

In lead prosecutor Billy Downer's opening address, he said his case would be based on facts and patterns and that "we will principally be talking of the arms deal." The first charge against Shaik was one of general corruption. In their efforts to prove this charge, the State led a number of witnesses to show, as explained by Downer, that Zuma was "on retainer for Shaik."

First charge: Corruption
The State argued in its first charge of corruption that Shaik had paid Zuma R1.2 million (US$185,000) to further a "general corrupt relationship." To prove this charge, the State gave evidence of all the financial transactions between Shaik and Zuma. The State's first witness for this charge was Shaik's former secretary, Bianca Singh, who gave testimony while accompanied by three bodyguards. She stated that "Zuma was quite close to Shaik. They would speak on the phone and he would come to visit." She also testified that Shaik arranged financial affairs for Zuma, managed his bank accounts on the computer, and discussed his financial situation with him. She concluded by saying that she knew that Shaik said the word Zuma often because she often overheard him while he was on the phone.

The State's next witness was KPMG forensic auditor Johan van der Walt, who testified for several hours that the payments made by Shaik to Zuma "sometimes threatened the financial existence of the whole group." He continued that the payments were not sensible for any other purpose than to buy influence with Zuma. Shaik's lawyers argued in cross-examination that their own forensic auditor showed that payments to Zuma were only a small percentage of the group's turnover. Van der Walt replied that "one can have a billion rand turnover and still have an overdraft. If you don't have the money, you can't operate." Van der Walt also stated that Zuma lived well beyond his means, but seemed to accept that other people would pay his debts.

Shaik's counsel, François van Zyl, said Shaik would testify that as far as he knew, Zuma had by now paid all his creditors and should have no problem paying him back. Van der Walt replied that whether the money paid to Zuma was a loan or a donation, he reaped the benefits: "My review indicated that Zuma had no access to major funds to repay his debts. The repayments must have taken place outside the period of review." Van Zyl produced a written revolving credit agreement between Shaik and Zuma of which, he said, Parliament was informed. The State said it would dispute its authenticity. Van Zyl also accused Van der Walt of not taking into account that Zuma had repaid some money to Shaik.

Ian McLeod, credit manager at Absa Group Limited, one of South Africa's largest banks, said that neither Shaik nor Zuma mentioned the agreement when they were asked to make a list of their assets and liabilities. From what he saw, he said that he "doubted very much if Zuma could repay Shaik." Tracy O'Brian told the court that she sublet a flat to Shaik. Shaik told her that it was for his financial director. She later discovered, however, that when there were complaints about bodyguards with guns, Zuma lived there. Although Shaik or one of his companies paid the rent, it was always late. She terminated the lease.

Abdool Qadir Mangerah said that he was a close friend of Zuma. He loaned Zuma R154,000 (US$24,000), and when Zuma could not pay him back, Shaik did. A balance of R4,000 (US$600) was still outstanding. He said that he helped Zuma out of friendship and gave him interest-free loans just like Shaik claimed he did. All Mangerah expected in return was "prays for [his] good health."

The State alleged, however, that several things were done in return. A former business associate of Shaik, Professor Themba Sono, told the court that Shaik told business partners that the Nkobi group could bring "political connectivity" to the table. Shaik said what he meant by political connectivity was Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). Professor John Lennon of Caledonian University in Glasgow told the court that Zuma advised him to use Nkobi as the South African partner for a proposed eco-tourism school. When Lennon seemed hesitant, Shaik threatened to derail the proposal and tell Zuma. A feasibility study for the project was cancelled after the government of the United Kingdom refused an application for funding. Shaik denied that he had anything to do with the sudden decline of the project. He said that his "unfortunate" correspondence with Lennon was prompted by his reaction to being "sidelined."

Zuma intervened when Thomson was hesitant to take Nkobi on as its BEE partner because Mbeki allegedly told them that he had reservations about Shaik and his business ventures. Van der Walt said Zuma intervened in sorting out Nkobi's shareholding in ADS, a company strategically placed to get a multimillion-rand contract in the arms deal. Van Zyl countered that both Mbeki and Mandela were involved in attempts to negotiate a BEE settlement for ADS.

When the Malaysian Renong Group wanted local partners for a Durban development, Zuma proposed Shaik's involvement. Another Absa official testified that Shaik and Zuma were considered a "package deal" when the bank invited Zuma to become a private banking client.

At the end of the testimonies for the first charge, Downer pointed out they need not prove that Zuma did anything out of the ordinary to help Shaik as "you can corrupt a politician by paying him to do something he is paid to do every day."

Second charge: Fraud
The State proved in this charge that Shaik had more than R1 million (US$154,000) written off. Shaik owed this money to companies in the Nkobi group, and included payments made to Zuma. The write-off meant that it disappeared from Nkobi's books. Shaik said that it was a mistake and that he had his auditors fix it in subsequent financial years. Van der Walt said that it did not matter that it was fixed, as it was still a crime, asserting that "you can fix the amounts, but not the irregularity." He said Shaik stood to benefit most from the write-off. He also added that the fact that an auditor was advising him did not reduce his liability as director.

Shaik told the court that the company's auditors and financial director Colin Isaacs took full responsibility for the financial side of operations, that he was sure that the accounting books were in order, and that when he became aware of the problem he had it corrected. He had no intention to commit fraud.

Auditing clerk Anthony Reed said he was instructed by Ahmed Paruk to effect the write-off. Paruk said he was instructed by Shaik to do it. He said Shaik told him that there was "no way in which he owed that type of money to his companies".

Former Nkobi accountant Celia Bester said that the money written off was cash bribes paid to "various ministers" by Shaik. The writing-off, she said, was the main trigger for her final resignation. She told Judge Squires that she "saw it purely as bribe money".

Third charge: Corruption
For the second charge of corruption against Shaik, the State proved that Shaik had solicited a bribe from French arms company Thomson for Zuma. Zuma agreed to protect Thomson in return.

As evidence for the charge, Van der Walt said there were clear signs that an "informal corrupt" process was followed, apart from the formal process when South Africa's multibillion-rand arms deal was concluded. Government auditor James Edward van Heerden, who did a special review of the arms acquisition process, also concluded that there were deviations from the accepted arms acquisition practices, with no plausible explanation. He told the court that their conclusions were that there should be a special investigation or forensic audit focusing on the involvement of contractors and subcontractors in the deal.

The most controversial document produced by the State was a fax ostensibly setting out a bribe agreement between Shaik, Zuma, and Alain Thétard regarding the March 2000 meeting and R1 million (US$154,000) payment to Zuma. Both the handwritten fax and a disk with a typed copy were handed to the Scorpions by Thétard's former secretary, Sue Delique. Her evidence was backed up by forensic computer expert Bennie Labuschagne and handwriting expert Marius Rehder.

Delique told the court that she was asked to type the note and fax it in encrypted form to Paris. After she resigned she told Thomson's auditors at the time, Gary Parker and David Read, about it. She refused to give them the documents. She told the court that she did not fax the agreement to Shaik. In response, Shaik testified that he "had nothing to do with Thomson in 2000".

Parker and Read concluded at the end that she was a disgruntled employee. They found no proof of what she told them in Thomson's financial statements, and then dropped the matter. Shaik admitted that there was a meeting between himself, Thétard, and Zuma. But he said it was about a donation for the Jacob Zuma Education Trust.

Singh told the court that an audibly agitated Shaik had phoned her from the golf course to tell her to tape hearings by the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts when Chippy Shaik was being questioned about the arms deal. She said he told her the next day that they were "focusing on the wrong person". Singh also said that she overheard Shaik calling Zuma the next day. According to her he said: "Hello my brother, Hello JZ. Chippy is under pressure. We really need your help to land this deal." He later asked her to come to Mauritius with him to meet Thétard.

Singh testified that at that meeting Shaik said they had to discuss "damage control." And he said if the Heath Investigation Unit continued to probe the arms deal and if a certain ANC member opened his mouth "they would be in big trouble." Shortly afterwards the alleged bribe agreement was concluded. Van der Walt said he found a great deal of correspondence about the payment of the money and a service provider agreement that Shaik concluded were used to mask the bribe. Only one payment was made of R250,000 (US$38,000); however, nothing was done to enforce the so-called "service provider agreement."

Shaik denied any attempt to bribe Zuma for protection and told the court that he did not know why Thétard wrote the note setting out the bribe agreement. He also testified that what the State thought was correspondence about the bribe was really about the donation to the education trust. Shaik said that the trust was in financial difficulty in 2000 and the donation was urgently required for them to be in a position to give bursaries for the next year. But Gerhardus Pretorius, who managed the Jacob Zuma Education Trust at the time, told the court that nobody ever told him of a significant donation expected from Thomson. Theunis Benemere, involved in the day-to-day administration of the trust, said that "there was always enough money".

Former Judge Willem Heath told the court his unit was confident it would be included in the multi-agency probe into the arms deal. His unit was the most dangerous by far if there was evidence of corruption as it had the power to have the deal cancelled on "public interest" grounds. Heath said he was baffled when Mbeki refused to allow them to investigate. He said "I have no doubt that if objective consideration was applied the President would have no choice but to issue a proclamation". Heath's two former right-hand men, Gerhard Visagie and Jannie Lubbe, echoed his sentiments.

The president of the Independent Democrats, Patricia de Lille, told the court she was handed information by people whose identity she did not disclose. She first asked for a commission of inquiry into the arms deal. When that was refused she asked Mbeki to issue a proclamation to allow the Heath unit to investigate. She said that her "role was to pass on the information and hope and pray that it will be investigated. I was ostracised, but I did it for the people of the country. I wanted to assist government to root out the few bad apples." She was accused by Van Zyl of using the arms deal to attack the ANC, but she retorted that her "attack was on corruption."

Gavin Woods, who headed Parliament's Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), told the court that they wanted a thorough investigation of the arms deal. It would have included their own investigation as well as one by four agencies including the Heath Special Investigating Unit. He received a letter from Zuma, written in his capacity as leader of government business, saying that government saw no need for the Heath Unit to be involved. At the time, Woods said there was no clarity on what it was the "leader of government business" was supposed to do. Under cross-examination he conceded that the director of public prosecutions, the auditor-general and the public protector also wanted Heath excluded.

Zuma said that when he was asked in Parliament if the revelations at the Shaik trial were a blot on the moral regeneration programme headed by him, he replied, "not at all, I don't look at it that way. Not at all, honourable members."

Squires' judgement
The Defence rested its case on 7 April 2005, which was followed by the State's final arguments on 28 April. Judge Squires said that he would not be prepared to give any judgment before 30 May. In his final statements, Judge Squires thanked the defence and the prosecutor for the "meticulous and careful manner" in which they "presented their cases", which he said made the "court's task easier," especially when seen in the light of the difficult and complex nature of the case. The formal part of the trial ended shortly after the defence counsel asked the court to consider the possibility that Shaik had sought a bribe of R500,000 (US$77,000) a year from Thompson-CSF without Zuma's knowledge. The defence stated, however, that this version should only be considered if the court rejected their original argument.

Judge Squires reconvened the court on 7 June to deliver his sentence. Describing corruption as a "pervasive and insidious evil," he found that Shaik's actions had been aimed at advancing his business interests through an association with Zuma:

 * "His corporate empire's progress and prosperity was plainly linked to the possibility that Jacob Zuma would finally ascend to the highest political office. What was important to him was the achievement of a large multi-corporate business group ... And the power that goes with that and close association with the greatest in the land. It is precisely in such circumstances that corruption works".

Judge Squires also said that he was convinced that Shaik gave Zuma "a sustained level of support" designed to maintain a lifestyle the politician could never have afforded otherwise, and that this was an investment in Zuma's political profile from which Shaik expected to benefit. Judge Squires continued that the payments "were not ... to a low-salaried bureaucrat seduced into temptation," and that the higher the status of the beneficiary, the more serious the offence.

Judge Squires found Shaik guilty of a generally corrupt relationship with Zuma and for soliciting a bribe for Zuma from Thomson-CSF. He was also found guilty of fraud for irregularly writing off loans from the books of Nkobi Group.

Judge Squires dismissed Shaik's anti-apartheid "struggle credentials", saying what he had sought to achieve was exactly the same as the apartheid regime's "command of the economy" by a privileged few, which is exactly what the struggle had sought to replace. The judge sentenced Shaik to the minimum prescribed sentence of 15 years on each of the corruption counts. Shaik was sentenced to three years for fraud; however, Judge Squires said he found mitigating circumstances for not imposing the same minimum penalty for the fraud charge, as Shaik had not been the instigator and the crime had no adverse effect on any other party.

Judge Squires ordered that the three sentences run concurrently and described Shaik as a man with commendable vision, ambition, and energy, but one who appears to have lost his moral compass and scruples. The judge also imposed a series of fines on 10 companies related to the Nkobi Group.

Concluding the sentencing proceedings, Squires said:

 * "I do not think I am overstating anything when I say that this phenomenon [of corruption] can truly be likened to a cancer eating away remorselessly at the fabric of corporate privacy and extending its baleful effect into all aspects of administrative functions, whether state official or private sector manager. If it is not checked, it becomes systemic. And the after-effects of systemic corruption can quite readily extend to the corrosion of any confidence in the integrity of anyone who has a duty to discharge, especially a duty to discharge to the public."

 * "One can hopefully discount the prospect of it happening in this country, but it is that sort of increasing disaffection which leads and has led on other parts of our continent and elsewhere to coups d'état or the rise of populace leaders who in turn manipulate politics for even greater private benefit ... This is the last step in a thousand mile journey."

Shaik immediately announced his intentions to appeal the sentence, and Judge Squires set aside 26 July as the date of a hearing for Shaik's leave to appeal.

Fallout
The political nature of the trial prompted immediate reactions from all sides of the political and economic spectrum in South Africa. Non-ANC-aligned parties immediately praised the verdict as it weakened the moral position of the ANC. Groups hostile to the ANC immediately demanded that Zuma be charged with corruption as well.

The leader of the United Democratic Movement, Bantu Holomisa, issued a press release strongly in favour of charging Zuma. He stated that "we [the UDM] hope that this was merely phase one of the prosecution process: Schabir Shaik has been prosecuted as the corruptor. Phase two must necessarily be to prosecute the corruptee. It would be an embarrassment for the country to have a serving deputy president arrested and prosecuted. Therefore, President Mbeki must fire Mr Zuma if he does not resign". The press report concluded by saying that the 15-year jail sentence was confirmation that South African society would not tolerate those who were guilty of corruption.

Democratic Alliance MP Sheila Camerer echoed Holomisa's sentiments: "The DA [Democratic Alliance] has maintained since August 2003 that the deputy president ... should have been charged with Shaik. We believe he should be charged now in view of Judge Squires' finding that he was complicit in both counts of corruption". Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille also said the sentence should prove a deterrent: "Schabir Shaik has been handed the justice all South Africans needed to hear and that this should prove as a deterrent for anyone in the future. We should all celebrate the restoration of faith in our country by the local and international community with this judgement."

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the most powerful trade union federation in South Africa, openly supported Zuma. However, its spokesman, Paul Notyhawa, said that it respected the court's decision: "We definitely have to respect the court's decision in the matter, noting that the accused has reserved his right to appeal". Notyhawa said that Cosatu had never objected to the trial of Shaik, but he went on to say that "what we object to is that the judge erred in implicating a person who has not been part of the proceedings and has been denied his right to respond in a proper forum".

The majority of the press called for Zuma to resign. Under intense pressure from within the ANC as well as the public, Zuma's spokesperson Lakela Kaunda announced on 14 June 2005 that Zuma would resign his seat in parliament. The ANC issued a statement later in the day accepting Zuma's resignation. Kaunda further explained that Zuma would stop his activities in parliament the next day and would write a letter to the speaker to inform her of his decision, clarifying that "the bottom line is that you won't see him [Zuma] in parliament again, at least not as a member".

The ANC's statement read that it "respects the position taken by Deputy President Zuma to resign as a member of parliament". Zuma, in response to the ANC, said that "President Thabo Mbeki has taken a decision regarding my presence in government and cabinet. It is the president's prerogative to take such a decision, in the context of, and within his authority as the president of the republic in light of this decision. I have also offered to resign my seat in parliament not as an admission of guilt of any kind, but to make it easier for the ANC and government to function in parliament." According to the statement, Zuma planned to stay on as deputy president of the ANC. Cosatu immediately reacted negatively to Zuma's resignation, prompting protests and calls for Zuma to be reinstated, although they represented a minority of the South African public.

Zuma was charged with corruption as a result of the trial, although he continued to enjoy support from leftist and Zulu elements of the ANC. His support did appear to decline significantly (but not entirely collapse) after being charged with an unrelated rape case late in 2005, which led to him suspending his activities within the ANC.

Supreme Court of Appeal
Judge Squires granted Shaik the right to an appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein against his fraud and one of his corruption convictions. After being granted his reprieve, Shaik told reporters in a press conference that he was grateful and intended to use the options made available to him. He concluded the press conference by stating that "obviously one would have liked to be victorious on all the charges, but we are in the legal process".

Many reporters asked him if he would petition the Chief Justice to appeal the convictions that Judge Squires denied grounds of appeal, to which Shaik replied that his legal team was considering the matter. The National Prosecuting Authority, as represented by spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi in front of the courthouse, said that it accepted Judge Squires' decision, despite some disappointment. Nkosi also said that "We [the NPA] are satisfied that the judge applied his mind correctly to all the facts. In some cases, we are naturally disappointed, but even then you appreciate the reasons for coming to that decision".

Judge Squires extended Shaik's R100,000 (US$15,000) bail. It took more than a year for the Supreme Court of Appeal Court to pass a ruling on the two appeals as well as the application from Shaiks' legal team for leave of appeal on the second corruption charge (which Squires had declined to award).

However, on 6 November 2006, President Craig Howie on a bench of 5 judges, rejected this right to appeal. The appeal judges found that Shaik was correctly convicted on three charges of corruption and that the sentence was fair. Furthermore, the court found that Shaik's actions went against the very fibre of the constitution. Shaik reported to jail to start serving his effective 15-year sentence. On 3 March 2009, Shaik was released on medical parole, after serving two years and four months of his 15-year prison term.

Constitutional Court
Mr Shaik applied for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, against his conviction and sentence, and consequential steps. In October 2007 the Court dismissed most elements of the application, finding that most of the grounds for appeal submitted by Shaik had no prospect of success. However, it granted leave to appeal against the order for confiscation of his assets.

Shaik and his companies (Nkobi Holdings and Nkobi Investments) then appealed to the Constitutional Court to question the validity of the confiscation order regarding R33 million of their assets. The original court authorised the confiscation under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA), since it held that they constitute proceeds of crime. In April 2008 the Constitutional Court dismissed this appeal, finding that Shaik and his companies had received their shareholdings in Thint, a major ground for the asset forfeiture order, as a result of "the corrupt payments" made to Zuma, and that the remainder of the order related to dividends that accrued due to this shareholding.

The court ruled that POCA permitted that all benefits that had arisen from the commission of a crime, whether directly or indirectly, may be confiscated by the trial court after it convicted an accused; and that the trial court had discretion to determine the appropriate amount in any given case. The court concluded that Shaik and his companies had not shown that the High Court improperly exercised its discretion to determine the amount to be confiscated nor that the order confiscating both the shareholding and the dividend was "disturbingly inappropriate".

References in popular culture
In November 2006 the South African comic strip Madam & Eve ran a series of strips lampooning Shaik's arrival in prison.

title: Schabir Shaik trial


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