Lawyers for the South African subsidiaries of French arms company Thales have not ruled out calling as a witness the man accused of attempting to bribe Jacob Zuma.
"It is too early to tell who will be called as a witness," Thint's attorney Ajay Sooklal said when asked on Wednesday if Alain Thethard, a former Thint (then Thomson-CSF) executive, would be called to give evidence in the corruption trial.
However, in affidavits filed in the Pietermaritzburg High Court, Thint is seeking a permanent stay of prosecution.
Thint, represented by managing director Pierre Moynot, is former deputy president Jacob Zuma's co-accused.
Sooklal said his client believed its right to a fair trial had been breached because the State had failed to honour a 2004 agreement to withdraw charges in exchange for an affidavit from Thetard confirming that he was the author of an "encrypted fax".
The encrypted fax recording a R500 000 a year bribe to Zuma was accepted as evidence by Durban High Court judge Hilary Squires in the trial of Zuma's former financial adviser Schabir Shaik.
The Star newspaper earlier on Wednesday reported that Moynot claimed in papers filed in response to the State's affidavits that it was the National Prosecuting Authority that had approached Thales to reach the deal over Thetard's affidavit.
Thetard is no longer in South Africa.
The fax was a vital piece of evidence in the conviction of Shaik, who was described by Judge Squires as having a "generally corrupt relationship" with Zuma. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail. His appeal is expected to be heard in late September.
In another revelation, The Star also reported that Moynot claimed in the affidavit that former justice minister Penuel Meduna "took a job for the French company (Thales)" in September 2005. - Sapa