Eskom wants Guptas, ex-minister and others to pay back R3.8 billion

Eskom chief executive officer officer (CEO) André de Ruyter has confirmed that the power utility had instituted a claim for R3.8 billion against members of the Gupta family.

Speaking to the media on Friday, De Ruyter welcomed the announcement that ABB South Africa, formerly ASEA Brown Boveri, had reached an agreement with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to repay Eskom R1.5 billion for an overpayment on a contract awarded for work on the Kusile power station project.

ALSO READ: SIU probes companies overpaid by R4bn at Eskom’s Kusile project

De Ruyter said the R1.5 billion would be used to reduce Eskom’s debt and debt service costs.

“Eskom has been investigating all suspicious contracts for the past few years, with a view of recovering any losses it suffered as a result of criminal activities by its own employees who may have illegally colluded with some of the contractors. Eskom has already recovered R1.1 billion from McKinsey and R171 million from Deloitte Consulting,” he said.

Eskom CEO André de Ruyter during the joint media briefing on Friday. Picture: @RSASIU

De Ruyter further confirmed that the power utility would pursue a claim against the Gupta family in an effort to recover the money.

“Eskom has also instituted a claim against members of the Gupta family, Gupta associates, former Eskom executives and a former government minister, as well as a R95 million claim against PricewaterhouseCoopers [PwC],” he said.

READ MORE: SIU reveals how four Eskom officials got R44.4m in unlawful payments

The claim for damages for Eskom relates to R3.8 billion in funds diverted from Eskom to allegedly help the Gupta family members and their associates acquire the operations of Optimum Coal Holdings, which owned Optimum Coal Mining, which supplied the Hendrina power station with coal.

Gupta-owned entity Tegeta Exploration and Resources had previously had a contract with Eskom, which left several power stations suffering supply shortages as a result of the cancellation.

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