Schabir Shaik, in the critical care unit of Durban's Luthuli Hospital being treated for "uncontrollable hypertension", took this week's news from the constitutional court "badly", his brother, Mo Shaik, said yesterday.

Schabir on Thursday lost his appeal in the court against the seizure of R33,8 million in assets.

"Obviously, he took a knock," said Mo, "but he's still hanging on, as we all are, and we have to move on and deal with other issues."

For one thing, the battle between the Shaiks and the assets forfeiture unit of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is not yet over - the Shaik family intends to dispute the unit's contention that it is owed about R8 million in interest on the millions seized by the state, calculated from the time that they were ruled forfeit to the time they were handed over.

The constitutional court found that certain financial "benefits" had clearly accrued to Shaik and his Nkobi companies as a result of the support given them by Jacob Zuma, now the president of the ANC.

Shaik and his companies were said to have benefited from the intervention of Zuma at a meeting in July 1998 *1 between Shaik and Thint, the French arms manufacturer contracted to sell weaponry to South Africa *2.

"But let's not talk about 'battles' or 'wars' please," said Mo, who is managing the Nkobi companies on Schabir's behalf.

Mo said the companies had been badly damaged by having to pay legal fees, by loss of business caused by the litigation, and by the antipathy of some financial institutions and so were "certainly not going to go to court".

"In my view, the interest clock on the outstanding money started ticking only this week, when the matter was fully finalised *3," said Mo.

"But, in the view of the assets forfeiture unit, the clock started ticking a long time ago. I intend to talk about this to the unit. The word here is 'negotiation' not 'battle'."

Willie Hofmeyr, the head of the unit, confirmed that the Shaiks had "indicated that they might dispute that interest should be added" to the R33,8 million that was seized.

The funds seized from Shaik, now in the hands of a curator, amount to just over R42 million, including interest, said Hofmeyr.

"A while ago, we reached an agreement with the Shaiks in terms of which they gave the curator the [R33,8 million] plus interest, which the curator invested in an interest-bearing account," said Hofmeyr.

Mo said that doctors were concerned about Schabir's high blood pressure, which had resulted in a mild heart attack and did not seem to be controlled by medication.

"This is what has happened and this is what we have to deal with - why must people pick on him for being sick in hospital?" asked Mo.

Shaik's appeal in the constitutional court was his last-ditch attempt in a long court battle during which he fought to keep his millions.

Shaik is now serving a 15-year sentence at Durban's Westville Prison for fraud and corruption, but he has probably spent more time in a hospital ward than in a cell.

He had challenged the validity of findings by the Durban high court and the supreme court of appeals that that he had received financial benefits from Zuma's intervention on his behalf with Thint. Shaik, then Zuma's financial adviser, was found to have paid millions to Zuma, which the court ruled constituted bribery.

Delivering a unanimous judgment this week, Justice Kate O'Regan, the acting deputy chief justice, said: "The finding of the supreme court of appeal is conclusive of the issue before us. The payments were made by Shaik in order to influence Zuma to promote Shaik's business interests, and in attending the meeting in London, in July 1998, Zuma did, as a matter of fact, promote Shaik's interests."

The court said Zuma's "state of mind" - whether he had helped Shaik as a friend or for any other reason - was not its concern. "The only question in this court is whether, on a balance of probabilities, the state has established that the benefits flowed to [Shaik] as a result of [Shaik's] criminal conduct."

Hofmeyr said the money seized from Shaik would benefit victims of crime. It will be distributed to organisations that assist victims of crime and to law enforcement agencies.

With acknowledgements to Sibusiso Ngalwa, Jeremy Gordin and Sunday Independent.