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The duo is expected to appear in court on Monday.
Former Eskom and Transnet CEO, Brian Molefe at the State Capture Commission, on 15 January 2021. Picture: Neil McCartney
The Hawks have arrested two former Transnet executives linked to a dodgy R93 million locomotive tender.
Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gama handed themselves over to police on Monday morning.
The duo is expected to appear in court on Monday.
The Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, confirmed the arrest of Molefe and Gama to The Citizen.
“They’ll be appearing in court this morning (Monday).”
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Charges
Molefe is currently a member of parliament for Jacob Zuma’s MK party.
The other accused in the matter include former CFOs Anoj Singh and Garry Pita, and former treasurer Phetolo Ramosebudi.
Others who have been charged include Regiments Capital directors Niven Pillay and Litha Nyhonyha, Regiments shareholder Eric Wood, Trillian Asset Management director Daniel Roy, and Albatime owner Kuben Moodley.
Their charges, which include fraud, corruption, and money laundering, stem from the locomotive transaction advisory tender awarded to the McKinsey-led consortium in 2012.
Transnet tender
Molefe and Gama’s arrests are linked to a matter involving a payment of R93 million to Trillian Capital, a Gupta-linked proxy company, to secure funding for the purchase of locomotives in 2012.
The transaction advisory contract for 1 064 locomotives was allegedly initially awarded to global investment bank JP Morgan in May 2015, before the deal was cancelled and subsequently awarded to Trillian in October of the same year.
An invoice of R93.4m was allegedly then submitted by Trillian through Daniel Roy, who served as a director of Trillian. The invoice was allegedly approved by Pita and Gama, and payment was reportedly made on 3 December 2015 to Trillian’s account.
Three days after payment was received, R74 million was paid to Albatime, owned by Moodley, without any apparent reason, according to the Investigative Directorate.
Cost
The estimated cost of the project reportedly increased from approximately R38 billion in 2012 to over R50 billion.
In its report, the Zondo Commission recommended that the police investigate Molefe, Gama and Singh for their alleged roles in siphoning money from Transnet to the Gupta family.
A 2018 forensic report found that Molefe had misled the state-owned entity’s board about its obligation to inform then-public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba about the spike in the project’s costs.
ALSO READ: Brian Molefe, Anoj Singh, more former Transnet executives arrested
