The State Capture Inquiry heard how a company that received many contracts from state-owned entities (SOEs) made monthly payments to Gupta enterprise front companies, which operated as alleged laundry vehicles.
This was according to Paul Holden, a director of Shadow Investigations, who appeared for the second time at the Zondo Commission on Monday.
Holden said Combined Private Investigations (CPI) received the contracts between January 2013 and January 2016.
He said, initially, the monthly payments were R500 000.
The payments increased to R1 459 200 per month from October 2013 and to R1 575 760.37 from 17 November 2014. This was done until the final payment at the end of January 2016, he said.
Holden said the payments were made to a front company, called Chivita, and then Homix, Forsure Consultants and Medjol.
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He added that he was provided with a copy of a correspondence between the Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and the attorneys for CPI.
SARB wrote to CPI to inquire about the “rationale of payments made by CPI to Homix, Chivita and Forsure and an entity called Ipocket Global”.
Holden said CPI alleged that they were approached in late 2012 by Salim Essa, on behalf of Chivita.
Essa had apparently indicated that he could “assist” the company to secure further business as he was “well-connected”, a “deal-breaker” and a “rainmaker”.
The company then alleged that Essa worked alongside ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte’s ex-husband, John Duarte, and Malcolm Mabaso, a former advisor to Mosebenzi Zwane.
It is alleged that the three would provide consultancy services to CPI to help it secure business, Holden said.
“In that same affidavit, CPI justifies the payments under a very broad explanation that they believe the payments made to the team would increase the profitability of CPI,” he said.
Jeanette Chabalala