Eskom urges corporates who conducted business with them illegally to come forward

Power utility Eskom has urged companies who conducted business with Eskom illegally to come forward so that they can start the process of recovering funds paid in the course of those assignments.

This comes in the wake of the judgment handed down by the Pretoria High Court this week where Trillian is required to pay back all the money they received from Eskom between August 2016 and February 2017 in the absence of valid contracts and, in some cases, where no work was done.

The Eskom Board has welcomed the judgment in a statement released on Friday.

#EskomMediaStatement

Eskom welcomes court decision on Trillian matter @ewnupdates @IOL @SABCNewsOnline @eNCA @Moneyweb @Fin24 @News24 @TheCitizen_News @mailandguardian @SowetanLIVE @TimesLIVE pic.twitter.com/mu2ZTOcwuO

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) June 21, 2019

The close to R600 million is due, together with interest calculated from the day of judgment to the date of payment.

Trillian is further required to pay for the costs of the application including costs of three counsel.

“We welcome the judgment and look forward to receiving the money from Trillian. In addition, we urge all corporates who conducted business with Eskom illegally to come forward voluntarily so we can start the process of getting funds that were paid in the course of those assignments. Our resolve, together with management, to recover all ill-gotten gains from the period of what has become known as state capture at Eskom will persist until all [money] due to Eskom have been recovered,” said chairperson of the Eskom Board Jabu Mabuza.

Eskom initiated legal action to recover unlawful payments made to Trillian in 2018, following a long-drawn process from 2017 when Eskom first served Trillian with a letter of demand that was later inexplicably withdrawn by previous management. Eskom continues to work closely with and provide all the support to the law enforcement authorities; the National Treasury, Special Investigative Unit (SIU), South African Police Service (SAPS), Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), National Directorate of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) and the Zondo commission on state capture in order to recover stolen funds using criminal and civil processes.

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