Businessman sentenced for Eskom fraud in Mbombela

A 56-year-old man was sentenced for fraud, theft and money laundering during his appearance in the Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday March 1.

Michael Chimanzi (56), the sole director of Chimanzi Investments, was tried separately from his co-accused, Eskom employees Nwabisa Ngxola and Cinderella Moropane, who are currently out on bail, according to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (Hawks) spokesperson, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi.
These three were found guilty of these charges in December.

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Sekgotodi said Chimanzi had been in custody since his initial arrest in 2018.

She said it is alleged that Ngxola and Moropane had colluded with Chimanzi in November 2013 and submitted fraudulent invoices to Eskom for services that were never rendered.

She said fraudulent transactions were channeled to Chimanzi Investments’ business account, which prejudiced Eskom out of R2.6m.

During the sentencing, the court took into consideration that Chimanzi had already served four years. “Furthermore, the accused showed remorse and pleaded guilty from the beginning, without wasting state resources,” Sekgotodi said.

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Chimanzi and his company were sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not found guilty and convicted for similar offences during that time.

Meanwhile, the case against Ngxola and Moropane was postponed to May 2 for sentencing. Their bail was extended.