Some of you might have caught the article in the Sunday Times about the Learjet that is about to go under the hammer, courtesy of Auction Alliance. More interesting, of course, is the jet’s billionaire owner, Gaston Savoi, who has been arrested in a government tender scandal. Follow the link for the story + some pics of the jet and a virtual tour!

This, from the Sunday Times:

Billionaire Gaston Savoi’s Bombardier Learjet – with its walnut finishes, dove-grey leather seats, crystal glasses and stash of Chivas Regal – is going under the hammer after his arrest over a government tender scandal.

The aircraft, with a value estimated at up to R40-million, was attached along with Savoi’s Maserati, a Ferrari and five luxury properties in the plush Cape Town suburbs of Tokai and Constantia in August.

The businessman is thought to be the mastermind behind a government tender scam. ANC Northern Cape leader John Block has been arrested and charged with fraud, corruption and money laundering for tenders awarded to Intaka Holdings, one of Savoi’s companies, for providing state hospitals with water purification plants.

Savoi’s whirlwind life of luxury was punctuated by daily business trips around the country, expensive cigars, fine Cape wines and lavish dinners at opulent restaurants.

He owned sizable stakes in the upmarket Shamwari Game Lodge in the Eastern Cape, where Tiger Woods proposed to his ex-wife Elin Nordegren, and the five-star Steenberg Hotel in Cape Town, and was also the chairman of Skyros Properties, which specialises in property development and pharmaceuticals, and Intaka Holdings, an engineering consortium.

His world came tumbling down after he was charged for alleged corrupt deals involving R180-million, followed by rumblings by the taxman for monies owed to the tune of R35-million.

Ariella Kuper of Auction Alliance, which is in charge of the sale, said the Learjet 60SE‘s high-profile sale on December 10 had sparked interest around the world, with inquiries pouring in from Botswana, Nigeria, Colombia, the UK and the US.

This week the Sunday Times was offered an exclusive peek inside the seven-seater jet, which has remained untouched since it was seized. It will be sold complete with Savoi’s possessions, including his vast tea collection, a flask of Jacobs Krönung instant coffee and a packet of Maxim’s de Paris French chocolate.

The bar comes with crystal glasses and is stocked with Chivas Regal and Johnny Walker Black. At the basin, passengers could choose between handwash with bamboo and green tea or rooibos, lemongrass and ginger.

Shortly after Savoi bought the jet in September 2006, it set a world speed record for flying from Cape Town to Johannesburg and back in two hours, 59 minutes.

Flying the aircraft costs R26per kilometre – averaging R33000 for a trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg – with an additional charge of R15000 per month for a hangar at Cape Town International Airport.

Rael Levitt, Auction Alliance’s CEO, said: “We’ve done work for the Asset Forfeiture Unit since its inception in the 1990s, and never has an individual asset of this value been seized.”

Savoi has been arrested three times in three months over the alleged R180-million scam. His attorney, George van Niekerk, did not respond to questions.

[more here]

Pretty exciting stuff, I’m sure we all agree.

Now go ahead and check out the gallery by clicking the thumbnails below.

And be sure to also check out the virtual tour.

CLICK HERE FOR VIRTUAL TOUR

And CLICK HERE for Auction Alliance’s page.