Zondo: Guptas bagged R15.5bn in unlawful contracts, mostly from Eskom, Transnet

It, however, conceded in the final report published on Wednesday night that the amount did not represent the full loss suffered by the state as a result of the Gupta-related capture.

JOHANNESBURG - The state capture commission of inquiry has found that the Gupta criminal enterprise benefitted by R15.5 billion from irregular and unlawful contracts.

It, however, conceded in the final report published on Wednesday night that the amount did not represent the full loss suffered by the state as a result of the Gupta-related capture.

State Capture Commission Re... by Primedia Broadcasting

State-owned companies such as Denel, Transnet and Eskom were fleeced of billions of rands through various schemes, which were concocted with the assistance of various individuals in key positions through dodgy contracts since 2011.

The commission said that while a wide range of state organs experienced the impact of state capture, the financial effect was mostly felt at Eskom and Transnet, with the two entities accounting for more than 97% of all expenditure tainted by the looting.

State Capture Commission Re... by Primedia Broadcasting

The report states that these vary from the R2.4 billion paid to Tegeta Resources and Exploration by Eskom to Transnet deals with Gupta-owned Cutting Edge, which received millions of rands from Transnet through numerous transactions.

In the second part of the report issued months ago, Transnet was described as the epicentre of the Gupta looting frenzy.

Part 2_Vol 1_Trasnet_Report... by Primedia Broadcasting

The commission said that the Gupta enterprise created a culture of corruption and indifference to cost in many state-owned companies.

The report explains that third-party contractors who were protected by the proximity to the Guptas exploited this culture to charge the state excess amounts even beyond those necessary to cover the cost of the kickbacks they were paying to the criminal enterprise.

The total number of kickbacks paid was R8.1 billion.

However, the commission only explored one of eight categories of losses, including collateral wasteful expenditure, total value of contractual damages and price inflation.

Recommendations that the affected entities should seek ways to recover the money have been made since the first report was released on 4 January.

Implicated individuals were referred for criminal prosecution or further investigations.

[EXPLAINER] State capture: How did we get here?

This article first appeared on EWN : Zondo: Guptas bagged R15.5bn in unlawful contracts, mostly from Eskom, Transnet

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