On Thursday, DA MP Natasha Mazzone said a chain of the leaked emails reveal that Anoj Singh, currently Eskom's CFO, was whisked off on at least four suspiciously timed Gupta-funded trips to Dubai. This happened during the period Transnet awarded a R1.8-billionn tender to Neotel, resulting in a R36-million kickback to a Gupta company.
Singh was Transnet's CFO at the time.
On Friday, further emails brought to light that he was also treated to a nine-day trip to Dubai in December 2015, shortly after the Guptas' Tegeta obtained Optimum Coal Holdings, which supplies Eskom with coal, from Glencore. The deal was worth more than R2-billion.
"This is a textbook example of bribery and corruption," Maimane said.
Earlier this week, he laid charges of treason and corruption against President Jacob Zuma, the three Gupta brothers, and eight others.
"I have therefore brought charges of corruption against Mr Anoj Singh, in addition to the criminal charges I laid earlier this week against President Zuma, members of the Gupta family, and several Cabinet ministers and executives of SOEs.
"The ANC has captured our state in order to make themselves very rich, and has long abandoned the project of building a united, non-racial and prosperous South Africa. The ANC cannot self-correct, and must be removed in 2019."
Mazzone added an affidavit on Singh to the corruption and racketeering charges the DA laid earlier in the week.
Guptas pay the bills
- Booking confirmations contained in the leaked emails reveal:
- From June 6 to 9, 2014, Singh stayed at the Oberoi Hotel in Dubai with Tony Gupta. According to Mazzone, this was during the time when bidding for the Neotel deal was open, and no preferred bidder accepted.
- From August 7 to 12, 2014, Singh again stayed at the Oberoi Hotel. During that month, Transnet notified Neotel that it was the new preferred bidder.
- From November 7 to 9, 2014, Singh was back in the Oberoi Hotel. Weeks later, Neotel was awarded the contract concerned, worth R 1.8bn. It paid Homix, a letterbox company allegedly connected to the Guptas, R41m.
- Singh was in the Oberoi from February 24 to 26, 2015. The Guptas again picked up the bill.
- After he became Eskom CFO, Singh stayed in the Oberoi from December 16 to 24, 2015. The bill was sent to the Gupta's Sahara Computers. This trip started two days after the Optimum deal was concluded.
Brian Molefe was Transnet's CEO until March 2015, and become Eskom's interim CEO the following month.
The ANC on Friday said it was concerned by the emails, and that they contained worrying claims about the relationship between government and private interests. It called on government to investigate their veracity.
The Guptas had not yet denied the information contained in the leaked emails. Their lawyer Gert van der Merwe said it was a political smear campaign. He had advised his clients to lay criminal charges against the media houses and journalists who published the "tampered" emails. -- News24