The fraud and corruption case against Brian Molefe, Anoj Singh and their co-accused in the Transnet locomotive scandal was on Friday postponed until November 30. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
The fraud and corruption case against Brian Molefe, Anoj Singh and their co-accused in the Transnet locomotive scandal was on Friday postponed until November 30.
The Palm Ridge specialised crimes court granted the postponement to allow full disclosure of the case docket to the accused’s defence teams.
The Investigating Directorate in the National Prosecuting Authority said the accused had been given a draft charge sheet and arrangements have now been made to fully disclose the contents of what it termed “the voluminous docket” in the matter.
Charged alongside Molefe and Singh — respectively the former chief executive and chief financial officer of the state freight logistics company — are Regiments Capital directors Niven Pillay and Litha Nyhonhya, former Transnet chief executive Siyabonga Gama, former Transnet chief financial officer Garry Pita, former Transnet treasurer Phetolo Ramosebudi, Regiments shareholder Eric Wood, Trillian Asset Management director, Daniel Roy and Kuben Moodley, the owner of Albatime Pty Ltd owner.
McKinsey & Co SA was recently added to the charge sheet, and is represented in the dock by employee Goitseone Mangope.
The fraud, corruption and money-laundering against the accused stem from the procurement 10 years ago of 1 064 locomotives at a cost of R54-billion on a tender awarded to a consortium led by McKinsey. Regiments and Trillian, both Gupta-linked entities, were irregularly enlisted and gratuitously paid lavish consultancy fees.
The Zondo inquiry into state capture heard evidence that R122-million of R189-million paid in advisory fees to Trillian on the China Development Bank loan, which in part financed the acquisition, in the end flowed to the Gupta family’s Sahara Computers.
Evidence leader Anton Myburgh submitted that key Gupta associate Salim Essa received 50% of all advisory fees that were paid to Regiments for services linked to the flawed locomotive deal, and that some of this went into “laundry payments to Gupta companies”.
At the time of the deal, Iqbal Sharma was a director of the Transnet board. Myburgh said Sharma had close business ties with Essa, who was involved in negotiating a commission for the Gupta-linked Tegeta.
Essa was also involved in a business development service agreement with China South Rail, which was to supply 359 electric locomotives. On the evidence presented to the commission, some $123-million flowed to Gupta linked entities in kickbacks.
Transnet paid R93.4-million to Trillian in 2015, officially for its help in securing a R12-billion to help finance the deal, but the commission heard that it provided no such service.
Molefe, Singh and Gama denied any knowledge of wrongdoing when they appeared before the Zondo commission.
Essa — memorably described by Myburgh as the Gupta family’s “money-laundering lieutenant” — is believed to live in Dubai, from where he filed a high court application two months ago to challenge the commission’s findings.