Durban - Two former ABB employees and their wives who are linked to defrauding Eskom through the contracted company were arrested in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal and Middelburg, Mpumalanga.
The accused were arrested on charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering.
The arrests were made in a joint operation between the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate(ID), the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) and the South African Revenue Service (Sars) on Tuesday.
The accused’s electronic equipment was seized during the the joint search and seizure operation.
Investigating Directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka, said Vernon and Aradhna Pillay were arrested in Durban and appeared in the Durban Specialised Crimes Court.
She said the couple were granted R20 000 bail each.
Seboka said Mohammed and Raeesa Mooidheen were arrested in Middelburg and appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.
She said they were granted bail of R50 000 and R30 000 each.
“The four are linked to the defrauding of Eskom through its contractor ABB and they stand accused of cashing in on gratifications estimated at R8.6 million, including cash and luxury cars, by inflating prices for Impulse, a subcontractor to ABB,” said Seboka.
She said Mohammed and Vernon stand accused for their influence in the awarding of over R549.6 million of the Eskom-ABB contract, for the benefit of Impulse between the period 2015 to 2017.
This is despite the fact that it was reported that Impulse did not qualify to do the work required, she said.
“This is deemed as one of the seminal matters that the NPA has referred to, for the reason that Eskom was really at the core of state capture and features prominently in the Zondo Commission Report, where executives at the most senior levels of the SOEs seemed to enable or facilitated for the looting of state funds,” said Seboka.
According to Investigating Director Advocate Andrea Johnson, the ID is hot on the heels of those accused of State Capture.
‘’This is a clear demonstration of collaborative work between the ID, Hawks and SAPS and more seminal cases will be enrolled as we continue to re-prioritise cases emanating from the Zondo Commission reports,” she said.
Johnson added that the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Shamila Batohi, National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola and Hawks head General Godfrey Lebeya met on Tuesday to reinforce a working relationship among law enforcement and NPA.
She said the meeting was held in a bid to ensure that those most responsible for alleged corruption and state capture are held to account and that the rule of law is upheld.
The matter will return to court on October 14 for further investigation.