Disgraced consulting firm McKinsey is still to make arrangements for the return of the cash it received from Eskom in an unlawful contract.

McKinsey has also declined to account for the R564m Eskom paid to the Gupta-linked Trillian‚ which initially had been introduced as McKinsey’s local supply development partner. The firm said it would pay back only the R1bn it had received from Eskom.

"We were not responsible for‚ nor did we authorise‚ the fees paid to Trillian. Eskom paid Trillian directly‚" said McKinsey spokeswoman Bonita Dordel. "Eskom has written to Trillian requesting repayment of the R564m.

Bowmans‚ Eskom’s external counsel‚ has confirmed that there was no subcontract between Trillian and McKinsey.

During the six months up to February this year‚ Eskom paid the two firms more than R1.6bn for work they said would help the utility cut costs and develop internal engineering consulting capacity. However‚ Eskom has admitted it should not have entered into the contract nor paid the firms as it had failed to seek or obtain approval from the Treasury.

Testifying in Parliament on Wednesday‚ McKinsey’s head of public and social sector practice‚ David Fine‚ said the firm would refund Eskom as it did "not want any tainted money"‚ even if a court of law found its contract with Eskom to be valid.

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