Eskom has welcomed the detention of four individuals who are accused of defrauding the public power company amid state control.
The four, who are out on bail, made an appearance in Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to answer to allegations of fraud, corruption, and money laundering.
“Eskom appreciates the arrests of two former ABB Group (ABB) workers and their spouses for wrongdoing related to R2.2 billion in Eskom contracts.
The four were detained yesterday in connection with a 2015 deal between Eskom and ABB that involved corruption and fraud.
“Eskom commends the NPA’s [National Prosecuting Authority] Investigative Directorate on the arrests made in this matter and promises to use all of its resources to support the investigations and result in successful prosecutions.
Eskom also hopes that this is just the beginning and that other arrests will be made in this case as well as the more than 100 other criminal cases it has reported to law authorities over the years.
The NPA claims that between 2015 and 2017, the four suspects profited from “gratifications estimated at R8.6 million… by inflating prices” and influencing the “awarding of over R549.6 million of the Eskom-ABB contract” for a subcontractor named Impulse.
The electricity provider confirmed that Eskom had been the site of significant State capture for many years.
According to the Commission of Enquiry on State Capture’s findings, Eskom was a significant crime scene, and the State Capture Report’s recommendation to prosecute was based in part on this issue.
The statement stated, “The law enforcement system needs to demonstrate that the period of criminal impunity and theft, which continue to deprive the people of South Africa of services they have so painfully paid for, is over.
Eskom claims that the contractor, ABB, has already repaid some of the money it improperly received from the power company.
After voluntarily disclosing cooperation with some Eskom personnel to improperly award it R2.2 billion for a control and instrumentation contract for Kusile power station in 2015, ABB South Africa agreed to pay R1.577 billion to Eskom during the month of December 2020, according to Eskom. –