Zondo and Co up their game in search of the truth

It looks as though the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture is upping the ante.

According to the Sunday Times yesterday, the Zondo Commission has subpoenaed four of South Africa’s major banks – Nedbank, Standard Bank, First National Bank and Absa – to submit details of transactions of the controversial Gupta family and their entities relating to deals involving state-owned companies that were allegedly part of the state capture project.

The banks look set to comply with the subpoenas.

More specifically, the commission is looking into the links between the Guptas and state-owned companies Eskom, Transnet and Denel.

Since the commission started in August, several witnesses have revealed the massive extent of corruption and fraud in the public sector, including many organs of state.

The commission was established to unravel the full extent of corruption at state organisations and allegations that ex-president Jacob Zuma used his position to secure deals for the Guptas and his son, Duduzane, in return for money.

The records from the banks are expected to be released to the commission in the next few weeks. “More documents and information [were] subpoenaed from the banks,” commission spokesperson Reverend Mbuyiselo Stemela told the Sunday Times.

The Bank of Baroda, who up until last year continued to do business with the Gupta entities after the big four banks closed their accounts in 2016, will also be subpoenaed according to the Sunday newspaper.

The commission resumes on November 12.

It seems deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo and the commission will leave no stone unturned in their quest for the truth. The Commission can’t resume quick enough. Bring it on.

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