January 13, 2005, 11:00
Sir Mark Thatcher formally pleaded guilty today to involvement in last year's failed coup in Equatorial Guinea. He has agreed to a R3 million fine plus a four year suspended jail term. The plea and sentence are contained in a plea bargain agreement with the Scorpions which was made an order of court by a Cape Town judge this morning.

Thatcher was arrested at his home in Cape Town's Constantia in August last year on a charge under the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act and has appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court several times since then.
Scorpions prosecutor Anton Ackermann told Judge Abe Motala today that it was in the interests of the administration of justice that the case be disposed of as quickly as possible. "One of the reasons being that the accused will assist the prosecution with further investigations in this matter," Ackermann said.
Thatcher admitted that he financed the charter of a helicopter even though he suspected it was going to be used for mercenary activity. In the plea bargain agreement he said his friend Simon Mann told him in November 2003 that he, Mann, was getting involved in a transport venture in West Africa. Mann asked whether Thatcher could help him by chartering a Bell Jet Ranger III for this purpose.
Thatcher told Mann that he would be interested in becoming involved. In early December 2003 Thatcher became aware of two Alouette II helicopters available for sale, and told Mann. Mann asked Thatcher to contact Crause Steyl, who operated his own air ambulance company, and who, according to Mann, had the "necessary experience" to give advice.
Thatcher met Steyl at Lanseria airport, Johannesburg, where they discussed cost options with reference to the Alouette and other options that might be available. Thatcher said he later began to doubt Mann's true intentions and suspected Mann might be planning mercenary activity in West Africa. "The accused began to suspect that the helicopter might in fact be intended for use in such mercenary activity. Despite his misgivings the accused decided to invest money in the charter of the helicopter. In fact Mann and Steyl did intend to use the helicopter in mercenary activity," read the plea bargain. Shortly before January 9 2004, Thatcher was asked by Mann to make a payment of US20,000 to reserve the helicopter, which he did.

In 1977 he set up Mark Thatcher Racing, a car racing company which developed cash problems. But it is his controversial business dealings abroad that have proved potentially more explosive for the Thatcher family. In the early 1980s, he also set up Monteagle Marketing, an international consultancy firm. In 1986 the prime minister faced questions over her son's relationship with the Sultan of Brunei. She also faced parliamentary questions over his involvement in a contract to build a university in Oman which was revealed by the Observer newspaper in 1984.

He was representing a British company Cementation, a subsidiary of Trafalgar House, which won the contract after Mrs Thatcher urged the Omanis to give the work to Britain during an official visit. Baroness Thatcher always denied a conflict of interests and said she had simply been "batting for Britain". Sir Mark severed his links with Cementation and left his Downing Street flat. Questions were also asked in Parliament over claims he received millions of pounds in commission from a 1985 arms sale to Saudi Arabia. Sir Mark denied receiving any money.
The 1980s also saw him move to the US to follow up his interests in the motoring industry, including representing David Wickins of the Lotus car company and British Car Auctions for an annual salary of £45,000. It was here that he met and married Texan heiress Diane Bergdof in 1987. They have a son and a daughter.
In 1998 Sir Mark's affairs came under the microscope once again, when the authorities in his new home, South Africa began an investigation into a loans scheme. It was alleged that a company owned by Sir Mark offered unofficial small loans to hundreds of police officers, military personnel and civil servants. When they defaulted on the loans they were pursued by debt collectors and charged 20% interest rates, according to the Star of Johannesburg. The probe centred around whether the scheme was in accordance with lending laws. The newspaper quoted Sir Mark as saying he only wanted to help officers in need of cash. No wrong-doing was ever proved.
More recently, in 2003, Sir Mark hit the headlines once again when it was reported that he wanted his mother to come and live with him in South Africa. The Sunday Times newspaper said he had amassed a personal fortune of £60m, quoting "City sources", who also say he keeps the bulk of his wealth in offshore accounts." His later success has been attributed to shrewd investments and a series of "astute deals in Africa".

·