The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has secured a preservation order to freeze R76.5 million worth of real estate and luxury vehicles linked to businessman Siyabonga Moses Goodwill Nkosi as part of an investigation into alleged corruption at Eskom.
The order prevents the assets from being sold, transferred or hidden while the SIU seeks to set aside irregular contracts and recover public funds.
An SIU investigation into Eskom, authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa, revealed how officials at the power utility’s Kusile and Matla Power Stations allegedly manipulated procurement processes for financial gain.
Between 2021 and 2023, officials approved inflated and irregular purchase orders for relays, equipment designed to keep power stations running.
According to the SIU, Eskom officials signed off on contracts that priced relays at R50 000 each, when the market price was between R180 and R450. This manipulation resulted in a direct financial loss of R73.6 million to Eskom.
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Officials at Eskom allegedly split purchase orders to keep transactions below the R1 million threshold, abusing the informal tendering system and bypassing formal procurement processes.
“False part numbers were uploaded to Eskom’s systems to ensure only colluding vendors could bid, inflating costs for equipment that was never needed and remains unused in stock years later,” the SIU said.
The SIU alleges that Nkosi used the Nkosi Royal Trust, Sibongukukhanya Trust and Siyabonga Kankosi Trust, of which he was trustee, as conduits for laundering the stolen money into prime properties in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
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The funds were also allegedly used to purchase luxury vehicles, including Lamborghinis, Porsche Cayennes and a Porsche Panamera.
The preservation order allows the SIU to launch proceedings within 60 days to approach the Special Tribunal to review and set aside these contracts.
In line with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996, the SIU will refer any evidence of criminal conduct uncovered during its investigation to the National Prosecuting Authority for further action.
The SIU is authorised to initiate civil proceedings in the High Court or a Special Tribunal to correct any wrongdoing uncovered during its investigation and to recover financial losses suffered by the state.
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