Transnet’s former chief executive Siyabonga Gama will return to court in August (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
A power outage on Wednesday impeded the court hearing of the R93.4-million corruption case against former Transnet chief executive Siyabonga Gama, two other former executives at the parastatal and three business directors accused of graft.
In a spectacle that accented the current parlous state of the country’s state-owned entities, underscored by Eskom’s incessant power cuts, lawyers for the six accused were cramped inside the district prosecutor’s office at the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court owing to a two-hour blackout.
Gama, Transnet’s former acting group chief financial officer Garry Pita and former group treasurer Phetolo Ramosebudi face charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and the contravention of the Public Finance Management Act. The charges stem from their alleged facilitation of illegal payments to financial consultants to fundraise $2.5-billion – about R30-billion in 2012 – for Transnet’s drive to purchase 1 064 locomotives.
The three are accused of cancelling a legitimate contract with an advisory firm to unlawfully grant Trillian Asset Management the financial consultancy contract, paying R93.4-million in December 2015 after an invoice was submitted by Trillian director Daniel Roy.
In the same month, the state alleges, Transnet paid R74-million to financial firm Albatime, which is owned by Kuben Moodley, “for no apparent reason”.
The Mail & Guardian reported in September that Moodley had been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport moments before boarding a flight to Dubai, in what the state alleged was an attempt by the accused fraudster to flee the country.
However, Moodley disputed this at the Johannesburg specialised commercial court last September, saying the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was “clearly” watching him, and that the Dubai trip was planned.
“It is astounding that if they [the NPA] had a prosecutable case against me, the authorities would wait for me to leave the country on a planned trip and only then effect an arrest. The only inference is that this is done to cast aspersions on me that I wanted to flee the country,” Moodley said at the time.
In June 2015, Regiments Capital fund managers had also received R189-million for the “alleged same services” that Trillian was paid for six months later, according to the NPA’s Investigating Directorate. Regiments shareholder Eric Wood is also an accused in the case.
The state claims that the money paid to the alleged unlawful recipient was used to assist members of the Gupta family to acquire the Optimum Coal Mine for Tegeta, which belongs to the family.
After the state and defence lawyers had concluded their deliberations in the prosecutor’s office – which was used for its abundant natural lighting – Investigating Directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the case was postponed to 29 August for further investigation.
She said the state wants to ensure that the prosecution has concluded its probe when the trial begins. She did not rule out the possibility of more accused people being added to the case.
Gama, Pita and Roy have been granted bail of R50 000 each, while Wood is out on R250 000 bail and Ramosebudi was released for R25 000. Moodley was granted R150 000 in September.