{"id":654033,"date":"2026-06-14T13:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=654033"},"modified":"2026-06-14T13:59:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:59:57","slug":"more-of-andre-de-ruyters-allegations-proven-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/government\/654033-more-of-andre-de-ruyters-allegations-proven-true.html","title":{"rendered":"More of Andr\u00e9 de Ruyter’s allegations proven true"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A recent arrest by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) substantiated former Eskom CEO Andr\u00e9 de Ruyter\u2019s claim that criminals used car dealerships to hide luxury vehicles from lifestyle audits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book, Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom<\/em>, De Ruyter wrote that he observed ostentatious displays of wealth from even relatively junior staff members at the state-owned power utility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWatching the main exit gate of Megawatt Park from my third-floor window, I was astounded to see a number of Range Rovers, BMWs, Mercs and even a stray Porsche heading for the exit at 15:30,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides having questions about why so many well-paid individuals were leaving work just a few hours after lunch, De Ruyter noted that the flaunting of wealth wasn\u2019t limited to fancy cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He saw Louis Vuitton handbags, equivalent to a month\u2019s salary, Hermes dresses, Panerai watches, and Christian Louboutin shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am not saying everyone driving expensive cars or wearing designer clothing obtained their wealth through illicit means, but it made me wonder where on earth the money came from,\u201d said De Ruyter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConsidering the opulence displayed by employees of a state-owned enterprise, it was certainly suspicious. It didn\u2019t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out what was afoot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Ruyter later described a Mpumalanga car dealership that housed luxury vehicles for corrupt individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe banal decadence was shocking,\u201d De Ruyter wrote. He explained that the arrangement helped people who siphoned money from Eskom hide their assets and avoid being flagged in lifestyle audits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA certain car dealership in the coal belt specialised in housing fancy vehicles on behalf of their owners so that they didn\u2019t show up in lifestyle audits,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vehicles, always held in the name of the dealership, would be available on demand, should the actual owner wish to take his Lamborghini for a spin on the potholed roads of Mpumalanga.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tenderpreneurs and Eskom cartels used the same trick<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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SIU Tembisa Hospital Capture infographic (Click to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Investigative journalist Jeff Wicks also previously wrote about<\/a> corrupt tenderpreneurs\u2019 liking for the trappings of wealth, specifically sports cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wicks explained that such corrupt individuals deal in cash. Millions in cash get handed over to the dealership, the car is delivered, but ownership is never changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat car will then sit in dealer stock for all its life. There is no paper link to the beneficial owner. Problem solved,\u201d Wicks said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome dubious dealerships will hand over a wad of pre-signed temp plates. When one expires, put on a new one, and then there are no fines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The corrupt officials and politicians are typically tipped off if lifestyle auditors do eventually visit their homes for an inspection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dealership employees will collect them in the dead of night. That way, having to explain this low-slung sports car in your garage is scotched,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis way, our elected leaders never have to explain how they own cars worth several times their annual salaries, and they get to flex for the \u2018slay queens\u2019 at Rockets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent Newzroom Africa interview<\/a>, forensic investigator Dorothy Mmushi also confirmed that the practice was widespread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that some car dealerships scheme with \u2018tenderpreneurs\u2019 to buy vehicles for government officials, but the cars are never registered in those officials\u2019 names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn many cases, the car never leaves the dealership. In some cases, the system is used to launder money, while the cars are sent to a third party,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special Investigating Unit crackdown on car dealerships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Yusuf Omar, owner of Omar’s Motor Den. Source: Special Investigating Unit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) recently announced that Yusuf Omar, the owner of Omar\u2019s Motor Den in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, had been arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SIU said the arrest was necessary because Omar failed to abide by a preservation order and violated an undertaking to cooperate in good faith with any investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case focused on a Bentley Continental GT linked to Hangwani Morgan Maumela in the SIU\u2019s Tembisa Hospital investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dealership failed to disclose that the car was in its possession when it was served with the preservation order on 9 October 2025,\u201d the SIU stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SIU\u2019s investigation found that the car, a restrained asset under a preservation order, had been transferred multiple times over the years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n