Hawks nab 11 over Kusile fraud, including 2 former Eskom senior managers
It is alleged that from February 2015 to July 2017, the appointed companies, other related entities, and individuals shared approximately R30 million amongst themselves.
Two former Eskom senior managers, two business directors, and seven companies are expected to appear in the Johannesburg Regional Court for alleged fraud, corruption and money laundering on Thursday.
The suspects were arrested early this morning in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and Gauteng by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in collaboration with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s Investigative Directorate.
According to a statement from the Hawks, "investigations began when suspicions were raised into the construction of two large projects at Medupi and Kusile power stations. This revealed that there was apparent gross manipulation of contractual agreements between contractors, Eskom employees and third parties at Kusile power station."
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The Hawks say an in-depth investigation pointed to the fact that the contract was manipulated in a number of ways including, amongst others manipulation of the skom’s procurement system by officials who occupied Senior Management positions, "descoping of the contract at Kusile without justification and with conflict of interest by Eskom employees."
They go on to say that in June 2015, Eskom's Kusile project management team submitted a request to Eskom's Procurement Committee for a mandate to negotiate and conclude a contract with one of the companies. The contract was approved on 2015 for R745 million to build two Air Cooled Condensers (ACC) units at Kusile power station.
It is alleged that from February 2015 to July 2017, the appointed companies, other related entities, and individuals shared approximately R30 million amongst themselves.