113 criminal charges against Eskom employees — but only 1 arrest
Eskom has laid 113 criminal charges with the police related to corruption at the Medupi and Kusile power stations and across the company.
However, only one arrest related to the Kusile power station has been made, and the accused will appear in court soon.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said they are now waiting for the police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to act on these cases.
Mantshantsha said Eskom has done what it could to bring corrupt employees to book. It is now up to the police and the NPA to do their job.
Apart from the criminal charges against former employees, Eskom is also pursuing civil cases to recover some of the stolen money.
“Eskom has launched court cases in Johannesburg and Pretoria to try to recover the money from some of the people,” he said.
Gupta Family
In August 2020, Eskom and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) issued a summons to recover funds that were corruptly diverted to the Gupta family and their associates.
The 12 defendants include former Eskom board members, Gupta family members, their associates, and others.
Defendants include former Eskom CEOs Brian Molefe and Mathsela Koko, former CFO Anoj Singh, former board chairman Ben Ngubane, and former legal head Suzanne Daniels.
Other defendants are Mosebenzi Zwane, Salim Aziz Essa, Tony Gupta, Atul Gupta, Ajay Gupta, Chwayita Mabude, and Mark Pamensky.
Eskom said the actions of these people during the acquisition of Optimum Coal resulted in the power utility suffering R3.8 billion in losses.
“The former executives and board members breached their fiduciary duty of care and good faith to Eskom,” the company said.
“They acted in a concerted state capture effort with the Gupta brothers, Mosebenzi Zwane, and Salim Aziz Essa to illegally divert funds from Eskom.”
The Gupta brothers owned the majority of shares in entities that, in turn, owned a majority stake in Tegeta Resources and Exploration.
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