friendship with Jacob Zuma, who needed assistance with his finances after returning from political exile in Mozambique in 1990. Zuma had been elected Chairperson of the African National Congress, and Shaik assisted him financially, mostly in the form of interest-free loans with no date of repayment. Nkobi Holdings was initially wholly owned by Shaik. The shareholding went through various permutations subsequently, however Shaik was at all relevant times a director of, and exercised effective control over, all the corporate entities within the Nkobi group. His brother, Chippy Shaik, was in charge of arms acquisition at the Department of Defence, which allowed Shaik to bid on a lucrative contract to supply Valour class patrol corvettes to the South African Navy. Fraud and corruption By 2002, Shaik was under investigation by the Scorpions in connection with his relationship to Zuma and Thales. He was put on trial for fraud and corruption at the Durban High Court from 11 October 2004. During the course of the trial, Shaik admitted that he falsified his qualifications and business achievements. The trial ended on 4 May 2005, with Judge Hilary Squires delivering his verdict on 2 June. Shaik was found guilty on two counts of corruption and one count of fraud, with judge Squires stating in his 165-page verdict that there was "overwhelming" evidence of a corrupt relationship between Shaik and Zuma. The fraud charge related to testimony by Ahmed Paruk, Shaik's auditor, that Shaik held a meeting with him and Shaik's financial manager, where it was agreed that false journal entries be made to alter Nkobi Holdings' financial statements. The second corruption charge relates to alleged attempts to solicit a bribe to Zuma from Thomson CSF. On 8 June 2005 he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment on each of the two counts of corruption, as well as 3 years on the count of fraud. The sentences were to run concurrently, giving him an effective 15-year prison term. He was given leave to appeal against his sentence on 26 July; his bail was extended until then. His appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal failed on 6 November 2006 As a consequence of the ruling, Zuma was dismissed from his post as deputy president by President Thabo Mbeki on 14 June 2005. On 2 October 2007, Shaik's appeal to the Constitutional Court of his conviction and sentence for corruption and fraud was turned down, with