Transnet Executives Arrested for Dodgy R93 Million Tender

(The Post News)– Former Transnet executives Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gama were apprehended in the south of Johannesburg in connection with a R93 million tender scandal dating back to 2012, linked to the Gupta family. The two reportedly voluntarily handed themselves over to the authorities this morning.

In 2012, a multimillion-rand payout was made to an alleged Gupta shadow company called Trillian Capital under the guise of a locomotive procurement. The tender transaction advisory deal was originally allocated to JP Morgan, a global investment bank, in May of 2015 but was later cancelled and conferred to Trillian that same year. Daniel Roy, the former director of Trillion, then submitted a R93.4 million invoice, which was approved by Siyabonga Gama and Garry Pita. Days after Trillian received the payout, a sum of almost R75 million, which was unaccounted for, was transferred to Kuben Moodley’s company called Albatine.

After the estimated budget for the project spiked from R38 billion to over R50 billion, the Zondo Commission urged authorities to investigate the parties involved in the embezzling of funds from Transnet to the Guptas. Among those implicated are Anoj Singh, Gama, and Molefe, who in a 2018 forensic report was also found guilty of providing false financial reports to Transnet’s board to former Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba.

Among those named in the dodgy tender deal are Daniel Roy, Kuben Moodley, Eric Wood, Niven Pillay, and Litha Nyhonyha, who all face charges of money laundering, corruption, and fraud.

Gama and Molefe, who also serve as parliament members in Jacob Zuma’s political party, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), reportedly appeared before the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court in Katlehong this morning.