- The Turkish company that won a controversial bid to plug the hole in Eskom’s electricity supply has been dogged by corruption accusations abroad.
- The Turkish Karadeniz Energy Group has faced controversies abroad that call into question the outcome of South Africa’s tender for emergency power in which Karadeniz subsidiary Karpowership SA was named a preferred bidder.
AmaBhungane and others have already questioned the government’s handling of the tender. Below, we give two troubling international examples, from Lebanon and Pakistan, in which allegations of bribery have been raised involving the Turkish company.
The allegations are neither new nor secret, but did not affect the outcome if they were considered as part of doing a due diligence on the bidders.
In Lebanon, Karadeniz is accused of paying commissions to a company linked to politically-connected businessmen. Lebanon’s financial public prosecutor has impounded the two ships it operates in that country as surety for a potential $25-million fine.
In Pakistan, a Karadeniz subsidiary stands accused of paying politically connected middlemen over $5-million to clinch a five-year contract worth $565-million. The deal was rescinded by the country’s Supreme Court in 2012, setting off an epic seven-year legal battle and an ongoing corruption investigation
Read more of this exclusive story from the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism HERE
