- Eskom has fired their first big salvo on consequence management.
- Two former senior Eskom managers and two businessmen appeared in the Johannesburg Regional Court yesterday afternoon after being arrested by the Hawks on suspicion of fraud, corruption and money laundering.
- Their alleged crimes relate to gross manipulation of contractual agreements between contractors, Eskom employees and third parties at Kusile power station.
In a press statement Eskom assured the public that they will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that perpetrators of corruption and malfeasance are brought to book. “The Board and Management of Eskom continue to work with law enforcement agencies, including the SIU and the Hawks, to root out corruption and malfeasance and the arrests of two former Eskom senior managers, two business directors and seven companies are a culmination of investigations that were under way for some time”.
The four accused are:
- Abram Masango, former Eskom Group Executive for Group Capital Division;
- France Hlakudi, former Eskom Senior Manager: Group Capital Division;
- Antonio Jose Da Costa Trindade, the CEO of Tubular Construction; and
- Hudson Kgomoeswana.
All four were granted bail of R300 000 each and had to surrender their passports. The case has been remanded to May 2020.
In an earlier joint statement, the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority said the four accused were arrested earlier on Thursday morning in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in collaboration with the NPA’s Investigative Directorate.
“The suspects were arrested early this morning in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in collaboration with the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigative Directorate,”
“Investigations began when suspicions were raised into the construction of two large projects at Medupi and Kusile power stations. This revealed that there was apparent gross manipulation of contractual agreements between contractors, Eskom employees and third parties at Kusile power station”, the press statement read.
Author Bryan Groenendaal
