Russian Oligarch Accused Of Making Shady Deals With South African Politicians

South Africa’s Justice Minister Ronald Lamola told the local Business Day his police may not arrest Putin. Instead, they are exploring "the option to look at extending customary diplomatic immunity to visiting heads of state in our country."

According to report, U.S.-sanctioned Russian oligarch is accused of making shady deals under sunny skies with South African politicians, the reported real reason why Russian President Vladimir Putin could evade arrest should he make a planned trip to South Africa in August.

Oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, said to be close to Putin, has been accused of repeatedly bankrolling South Africa’s ruling ANC political party. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, also president of the ANC, has so far failed to undertake efforts to arrest the Russian leader should he make the planned trip to Cape Town. Ramaphosa’s government has repeatedly refrained at the U.N. from criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying it is "friends" with Moscow.

U.S. relations with South Africa are hanging by a thread. It’s a diplomatic mess of epic proportions. The International Criminal Court (ICC) sparked fury by demanding that countries who are signatories to the court, including South Africa, arrest Putin should he touch their soil, accusing him of war crimes against Ukrainian children.

South Africa has invited Putin to attend a summit here of the BRICS group of nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. So far, the government has not cancelled the invite but has given reasons why it believes it doesn't need to arrest him, suggesting there is a loophole in the ICC’s rules.

And precedent shows that, if it’s left to the government alone, Putin can extend his middle finger to the West by walking about in South Africa as free as a bird. It’s happened before here in disturbingly similar circumstances. In 2015, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. But he was allowed to visit South Africa for several days and even given a large motorcade escort by the very police who, according to the law, should reportedly have arrested him.

Fox News Digital asked the U.S. State Department whether Putin should be arrested in Africa.

"There is no doubt that members of Russia’s forces and other Russian officials are committing war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine, and we have been clear that those responsible must be held accountable," a State Department spokesperson said. "We support accountability for perpetrators of war crimes."

Officially, South Africa has still not committed to an arrest.

"Cabinet has appointed an inter-ministerial committee chaired by the deputy president to discuss the legal opinion provided on the matter and propose a way forward," Clayson Monyela, the Department of International Relations’ head of public diplomacy told Fox News Digital.

Monyela further said reports in some international media that South Africa is quietly trying to persuade Putin not to visit are not the correct "line."