“Renova masters Africa”, a Moscow headline shouted in November 2004. It was journalistic hyperbole, perhaps, but the progress of Viktor Vekselberg, the man behind the Russian investment group, has been remarkable.
When Vekselberg visited South Africa in February 2004, he got to meet the president, among others. Eighteen months later he co-owned rights to strategic manganese reserves in the Kalahari.
This is the story of how the government, through the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME), awarded prospecting rights to a consortium set to benefit both Vekselberg, one of Russia’s infamous oligarchs, and Chancellor House, the company we reveal to be an ANC business front.
The story is important because it suggests that the government was swayed by a mix of diplomatic expediency — it was keen to improve economic relations with Russia in tandem with growing ties of friendship — and the ruling party’s funding needs.
Vekselberg is ranked as Russia’s third-richest man by Forbes magazine, which estimates his personal wealth at $10-billion. But just how he acquired this fortune is contentious. (See “.
This article formed part of a larger report on the ANC’s funding front, Chancellor House. Click here to read more.