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Former Eskom chief financial officer Anoj Singh will have plenty to talk about when he is dragged in front of a parliamentary inquiry into corruption at the parastatal on Tuesday – the list of allegations against him is extensive.
Singh's testimony comes a day after Eskom announced his resignation.
Singh stands accused of being one of the main men used by the controversial Gupta family to forward their agenda of state capture, allegedly using his senior roles in Transnet and Eskom to facilitate the awarding of various contracts to the family's businesses.
Here are some of the big allegations that may come up at the inquiry:
Transnet:
- In November last year, News24 reported that the value of a Transnet contract awarded to IT company T-Systems swelled from just under R1.7-billion to nearly R3-billion. This reportedly came after Gupta associate Salim Essa became a middleman negotiator for the German multinational. Singh, in his previous role as Transnet's CFO, allegedly played a key role in the parastatal's decision to extend T-Systems' contract.
- amaBhungane reported that a R1.8-billion contract was awarded to telecoms company Neotel during Singh's tenure as CFO, which resulted in at least R36-million in payments to Gupta-linked company Homix.
- Singh also oversaw a Transnet deal for 1,064 locomotives that was awarded to China South Rail, among others. The Gupta email leaks showed that the family, through their various business interests, scored about R5.3-billion from the deal.
Eskom:
- The Budlender Report, which came after an investigation by advocate Geoff Budlender in June last year, found that Singh – as Eskom CFO – allegedly authorised payments totalling about R266-million to the Gupta-linked Trillian in April and August 2016 that did not go through Eskom's books.
- In a series of reports, amaBhungane showed how Singh allegedly boosted cash to the Guptas by arranging contracts and payments to the family's business interests that allowed them to purchase Optimum coal mines through their company Tegeta Exploration and Resources.
- The Gupta leaks also showed how the Guptas arranged a number of hotel stays for Singh at the exclusive Oberoi Hotel in Dubai - all of which came around the time of the controversial contract awards that Singh oversaw at Eskom and Transnet.