Government spent R49 billion on contracts with Guptas
24 May 2021 6:29 PM
The Money Showâs Bruce Whitfield interviews Nthakoana Ngatane, a reporter at Eyewitness News.
The government spent R49 billion on contracts with the Gupta family, Paul Edward Holden, a researcher employed by Shadow World Investigations, told the State Capture Inquiry on Monday.
Holden says the contracts in excess of R49 billion â among them for Transnet locomotives - could be termed as irregular or state capture.
Holden testified that the criminally acquired funds were used to buy significant assets such as Optimum Coal Mine and to legitimise other operations like Sahara Computers.
FS Treasury paid more than R11m to Gupta s TNA, Zondo Inquiry hears The state capture commission has heard how the Free State Treasury paid more than R11 million to the Gupta’s New Age media, yet the only contract that the province could produce amounted to a little over half a million rand. FILE: Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is seen during a session of the commission of inquiry into state capture in Johannesburg on 16 November 2020. Picture: AFP
8 days ago
JOHANNESBURG - The state capture commission has heard how the Free State Treasury paid more than R11 million to the Gupta’s New Age media.
Gupta-linked entities scored R16bn of R49bn lost via state capture â Paul Holden
By Kailene Pillay
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Director of investigations at Shadow World Investigations Paul Holden has revealed how billions of rand was siphoned from the state and into Gupta-linked enterprises through the years of state capture.
While over R49 billion has been disbursed by organs of the state in expenditure tainted by state capture, the Gupta enterprise earned over R16 billion of that money through three ways, explained Holden.
The first was state funds paid directly to Gupta enterprises that were contracted to SOEs and government projects.
The second was through payments made by contractors to the state in what Holden describes as first level money laundering activities.
He told the commission about contracts awarded by SOEs and money paid to Gupta enterprises.
Holden said a company made monthly payments to Gupta enterprise front companies .
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 World 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.
Paul Holden of Shadow World Investigations appeared before the Zondo Commission on Monday.
He told the commission more than R49 billion was paid for contracts tainted by state capture .
Holden said of this amount, Gupta enterprise earned just under R16 billion.
The Gupta enterprise earned just under R16 billion from contracts tainted by state capture awarded by organs of state, the Zondo Commission heard on Monday.
Paul Holden appeared for the second time before commission chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
He had compiled a report analysing thousands of bank statements, and detailing the alleged laundering of money linked to state capture corruption.