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The dark heart of state capture: Whistleblower flees after shock claims

Former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene. Picture Credit: Gallo Images
Former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene. Picture Credit: Gallo Images

Sensational claims that go to the heart of state capture for the first time detail how a Gupta-linked company knew of the axing of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene two months before it happened — and scored millions from state-owned companies for work it never did‚ the Sunday Times newspaper reports.

A whistleblower’s affidavit to former public protector Thuli Madonsela‚ it says‚ lays bare how Trillian CEO Eric Wood briefed some of the company’s top executives about Nene’s axing during a meeting at its Melrose Arch offices in October 2015.

The whistleblower‚ a former CEO of a Trillian Capital Partners business unit who reported directly to Wood – which is owned by Gupta associate Salim Essa – has fled the country after revealing‚ in detail‚ an elaborate plan for Trillian to secure a number of lucrative contracts from the Treasury‚ including the nuclear deal.

The latest details emerge as Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas swore in an affidavit to Madonsela that the Gupta family offered him R600‚000 cash on the same day they offered him the finance minister post. He said they also offered him a total of R600-million to be paid in instalments ‚ if he “agreed to work with us”‚ according to the newspapers report.

 

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