Toxic past and jailed host no bar to bike fun
HIS South African wines have soothed palates and won local acclaim, but peddling toxic fuel additives earned British chemicals tycoon Dennis Kerrison four years in jail and international notoriety.
Now Kerrison’s well-known Doolhof estate in the Cape winelands is in the spotlight because its owner is behind bars on the eve of hosting an international sports event.
Kerrison bought Doolhof in 2003 when he was still CEO of global chemicals company Innospec, which specialises in petrochemical products such as fuel additives.
During his tenure the company sold an additive called tetraethyl lead — known to cause brain damage in children — to Indonesia and Iraq despite the substance being banned in the West.
It later transpired that Kerrison and one of his regional sales directors were involved in bribing Indonesian officials to the tune of about R170-million to keep sales of the additive flowing, despite the Indonesian government’s efforts to eliminate its use.
Kerrison was charged in 2011 and sentenced to jail in August last year.
News of the conviction came as a surprise to organisers of the Cape Epic, a world-famous mountain-biking event scheduled to cross the 300-year-old Doolhof estate outside Wellington next month.
Event spokesman
Chris SHADY GROVE: The peaceful scene at Doolhof farm near Wellington in the Western Cape belies the controversial career of its owner, Briton Dennis Kerrison Whitfield downplayed Doolhof’s involvement in the race, saying it was one of 18 strategic spectator/watering points. He said the event had traversed Doolhof in 2013, long before Kerrison’s conviction.
“The 2015 event is only two weeks away and it is logistically impossible to make changes at this stage. We will, however, interrogate these issues once the event is over,” he said.
This week the British Serious Fraud Office said Kerrison’s assets could still be targeted. “Substantial costs orders were made, which, if not paid, could be enforced against his assets,” spokeswoman Jina Roe.
Several Doolhof farm workers said Kerrison’s winemaking legacy was in jeopardy due to a labour stand-off. “Things were much better when he was around,” one worker said. “They’ve taken away a lot of our privileges since he left.”
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