Only his South African accent stood Edward Dutton apart as he chatted at an event to launch construction of a $243 million biodiesel plant at Port Kembla on Monday.It was a momentous day for National Biodiesel, the company of which Mr Dutton is chairman, given the NSW Government had just approved its plans for the soybean processing and biodiesel production facility expected to create 235 Illawarra jobs.But those around him, including Wollongong MP Noreen Hay, admitted they were unaware of the intriguing life Mr Dutton, 53, had led.
Beans means jobs: $243m biodiesel plant for the IllawarraHow he was caught up in South African apartheid politics and spent five years in Australian jails trying to fight an attempt to extradite him home, where he faced fraud charges brought on by the government there.Or how during his time in prison he became a figure in the life of serial murderer Ivan Milat, who killed seven people in the Belanglo State Forest in the 1990s.In an exclusive interview, Mr Dutton told the Mercury the allegations against him were lies and part of a South African government conspiracy which began in 1989 after he stood in a local election against former National Party defence minister General Magnus Malan, a man charged - and later acquitted - of apartheid murders.Mr Dutton had earlier established the Interboard Group in South Africa, a chipboard manufacturing business which was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and at one stage employed more than 4000 staff in 21 factories across three countries.He was declared Businessman of the Year by the Financial Writers Guild in South Africa in 1988 and his lifestyle was lavish. He owned a plane and game park.But urged on by his community, the decision to stand in the election against Gen Malan and speak out against apartheid was one that would eventually lead him on a 15-year battle to clear his name."In ... politics in those days it meant he was the next prime minister in waiting," Mr Dutton said."We achieved a lot but at great expense to my personal life."Mr Dutton said he and his company, which operated on anti-discriminatory policies, became an enemy of the then government.He said his stance was the reason he was arrested and charged with 14 counts of fraud allegedly involving the equivalent of $44 million.The alleged offences were committed between 1986 and 1989 and, according to the government at the time, most involved misrepresentations when companies controlled by Mr Dutton bought currency under foreign exchange laws then in force.The court case continued for several years until February 7, 1994, when Mr Dutton failed to show for court.As the South African government discovered in 1995, he had fled to Sydney where he was living under a false name.He was arrested and an initial attempt to have him extradited in 1996 failed due to a lack of evidence.But then, after extradition agreements between the two countries changed, the prima facie requirement was dropped. So when the South African government tried again, in December 2000, the local court magistrate ordered his extradition.Mr Dutton appealed the ruling in a series of unsuccessful court battles, right up to the Australian High Court.NSW Department of Corrective Services records show Mr Dutton spent about five years in maximum security wings of Long Bay, Silverwater and Parklea prisons as he fought extradition over a 10-year period.The first three stints were for several months, while the fourth began in December 2000 and ended on May 4, 2005.Mr Dutton said during his time in Long Bay maximum security prison, he was seen as a calming influence on backpacker murderer Ivan Milat.Milat, a quiet figure who kept to himself, for some reason did not mind Mr Dutton being around.Mr Dutton said he despised what Milat had done, but correctional officers would keep him close to Milat when moving the serial killer around the prison from his high security cage."You can't find the words to describe what he is after the awful things he did," Mr Dutton said. "But you know what, without a gun he's actually a wimp."Mr Dutton walked out of Parklea Prison in 2005 after discovering only 10 minutes earlier he would be released.Under Australian law, the attorney-general must make a final determination whether to surrender a person to a foreign country.Philip Ruddock told the Mercury he made his decision based on concerns about the high incidence of rape and AIDS in South African jails, and because he believed Mr Dutton had been incarcerated for sufficient time in Australia considering the crime he may or may not have committed."Those other issues (on innocence or guilt) were for the court," Mr Ruddock said.Mr Dutton said the South African government had consistently failed to put forward sufficient evidence against him and that he became a victim of unjust extradition laws."Under extradition legislation we weren't allowed to challenge anything," he said.An Australian parliamentary standing committee has since recommended courts should "have an expanded role in scrutinising the evidence presented by a requesting country".The Mercury has sighted several letters from lawyers who represented Mr Dutton, which said the extradition laws were unjust and backed claims he had attracted the ire of the South African government."I would like ... to emphasise that the extradition process as it applied to Mr Dutton had nothing to do with whether he was guilty of any criminal offence. At no stage was Mr Dutton convicted of any criminal offences," wrote Fox and Staniland partner Wal Abramowicz.Mr Dutton said he has moved on after his 10-year battle in Australia. He now lives with his wife and four children in Sydney and is excited about the Port Kembla plant and his company's future. He said he is no longer angry about what happened."But at the end of it I sat down with my family and we decided to move on."If we went on with this we'd just face more negative time worrying about it."Mr Dutton said under the present South African Government there were no extradition requests against him and he could return safely.In fact, he said the present South African Government had written letters of support for his businesses.The National Prosecuting Authority in South Africa did not respond to Mercury inquiries about Mr Dutton's present status.Nevertheless, Mr Dutton said he would not return and had applied for Australian citizenship."I made a promise to my wife and children in Australia," he said."She extracted a commitment that I wouldn't go back there because, well, look at how I've been treated."The website of National Biodiesel makes reference to his past and Mr Dutton said it had never been hidden."Mr Dutton was amongst those of prominence who took a strong moral stand against the apartheid regime in South Africa and paid a heavy price as a consequence," the website reads."He spent several years wrongfully incarcerated in the absence of any conviction (and) today he is one of a number of people who have experienced and overcome such adversity."
