/ 26 July 2017

Salim Essa exits Trillian, company at the heart of state capture allegations

Trillian Holdings is wholly owned by Salim Essa.
Trillian Holdings is wholly owned by Salim Essa.

Trillian Capital Partners has announced that an agreement has been reached with Trillian Holdings, owned by Salim Essa, to sell its shares in the company. 

The sale will see Essa’s 60% stake in Trillian Capital Partners sold to the company’s chief executive, Eric Wood. 

In a statement, Trillian said that “media allegations” were at the centre of the decision. “The unrelenting media allegations arising from Mr Essa’s holding (despite no proof or official charge) has had a negative impact on the ability of Trillian Capital Partners and its staff to reach their full potential. It is therefore with regret that Mr Essa has taken the decision to divest from the business,” it read. 

“Trillian has always maintained its innocence in the face of allegations and reiterates the belief that it has a team of excellent staff who are able to deliver on their mandates to the highest standards and hope they will be given a fair opportunity to do so in the future.”

Trillian is facing damning allegations of profiting from state-owned enterprises and inside knowledge of government affairs.

The release of a report by advocate Geoff Budlender on Trillian’s relationship with government officials and state owned enterprises, and Eskom recently admitting that the power utility had paid Trillian almost R500-million without a contract in place, have brought further scrutiny into, and outrage against, the company. 

See the Trillian timeline below: