Johannesburg – The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption, and Fraud in the Public Sector has found proceeds of corruption were diverted from state-owned arms manufacturer Denel for the benefit of the Gupta family.
In the second part his report, Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, who chaired the commission revealed that the Gupta family, acting with their associate Salim Essa and former Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba, were central in the capture of Denel.
The report states that the entry into VR Laser by the Guptas was driven by the intention to use it as a vehicle to capture Denel and make the company he sole supplier of Denel’s requirements of “complex engineering systems at fixed tariffs for a period of ten years”.
The report further found that Gigaba had “extensive, recurring contact with the Gupta family over a number of years”.
“Mr. Gigaba in fact knew all the Gupta brothers and their mother, was especially a friend of Mr. Ajay Gupta (who he would visit at Sahara Computers) and made regular visits to the Gupta Saxonwold compound while he was Minister of Public Enterprises,” the report found.
Furthermore, the report notes that the appointment of members of boards of directors at State-Owned Enterprises including Denel and senior executives cannot be solely left to politicians – given that they have appointed people who have not been able to lead the institutions successfully.
“They are all going down one by one, quite often, they depend on bailouts,” the report read.
Also read: Read part 2 of the state capture report here
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