DA to submit evidence of Guptas’ fake B-BBEE certificates to Zondo Commission
22 August 2018
The DA will submit evidence of possible counterfeit B-BBEE certificates, used by Gupta-owned companies to secure Eskom contracts as evidence of State Capture to the Commission of Inquiry, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice, Ramond Zando.
In March 2018, the DA laid an official complaint with the B-BBEE Commission, headed by Ms Zodwa Ntuli, who agreed to probe allegations of fronting and supplying false information through B-BBEE certificates against Gupta-owned Tegeta Resources and Exploration, Optimum Coal Mining and Trillian Consulting.
These Gupta companies submitted certificates to Eskom during the course of 2016 to secure contracts, meet internal procurement requirements and, in the case of Trillian, to ensure payment authorisations worth billions.
Trillian and Tegeta’s certificates show that they may have misrepresented their B-BBEE status. Their annual turnover was inconsistent with that of micro-enterprises. The companies were required to have a turnover of less than R5 million for the 2015/16 financial year to be considered micro-enterprises.