26 August 2004	Thursday	09 Rajab 1425

CAPE TOWN, Aug 25: The son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was charged in a South African court on Wednesday of bankrolling a coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea that led to the arrest of dozens of suspected mercenaries five months ago.

Mark Thatcher, 51, a millionaire businessman, appeared in court after investigators raided his home in the Cape Town suburb of Constantia, armed with an arrest warrant for the British national under South Africa's Foreign Military Assistance Act banning mercenary activities.

"We have a serious case against him. We have found information that he funded the alleged coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea," said Sipho Ngwema, spokesman for the Scorpions elite investigating unit.

Thatcher appeared before a magistrate who posted bail at two million rand (300,000 dollars/ 248,000 euros) and set November 25 as the date for the next court appearance.

Mark Thatcher has been linked to one of the alleged masterminds of the coup plot, Simon Mann, who is currently on trial in Zimbabwe in connection with the attempt to topple veteran President Teodoro Obiang Nguema in Malabo. -AFP