Agrizzi threatened Bosasa’s former auditor to sign statement exposing Watson

The former auditor of Bosasa, Peet Venter, told the commission of inquiry into state capture on Tuesday that the former COO of the controversial company, Angelo Agrizzi, and its former CFO, Andries Van Tonder, threatened him to draft a statement that would expose the illegal activities of the company’s CEO, Gavin Watson.

Venter told the commission that in November 2017, Agrizzi and Van Tonder asked to meet with him at the former COO’s house in Fourways, Johannesburg, and that upon his arrival the two asked him to draft a statement that would expose Watson’s illegal activities. Agrizzi and Van Tonder were also compiling affidavits intended to achieve the same goal.

Agrizzi and Van Tonder assisted Venter with drafting the statement, he told the commission, with the former COO at times dictating the wording.

At the time, Venter was still at the employ of an auditing firm that provided its services to Bosasa.

Agrizzi and Van Tonder did not ask Venter to fabricate or omit information while drafting the statement that would expose Watson’s illegal activities, the former auditor said, they simply requested him to provide information he was aware of and any other supporting documents in his possession.

“I didn’t want to do it and that is where Mr Agrizzi came in and he showed me how serious this thing [was],” Venter said, adding that at that moment the table they set on was filled with files which Agrizzi and Van Tonder had accumulated to formulate a case against Watson.

“So he really scared me with what he had accumulated,” Venter told the commission, further explaining that Agrizzi then gave him a choice to either “go down with Watson” or prepare the statement that would expose the company’s CEO.

Venter told the commission that Agrizzi was like Watson in that when someone opposed him, he would expose that individual’s wrongdoing to bring about their demise.

“They would destroy you,” Venter said, adding that Agrizzi then threatened to expose how Venter had used a dormant company to inflate invoices to Bosasa in order to obtain a commission.

READ MORE: Former Bosasa auditor was allegedly instructed to inflate invoices to get commissions

Agrizzi further threatened to expose that Bosasa had built a boundary wall for Venter if the latter refused to draft the statement.

Venter clarified to the commission some of the inaccurate and incorrect aspects of that statement which he said had been edited by Agrizzi and that he signed on a later day under duress.

The former Bosasa auditor said he printed documents which he gave to Agrizzi which were attached to the statement.

Venter said he raised his concerns that drafting the statement would lead to the auditing firm he worked for losing its contract with Bosasa and subsequently, him losing his job.

He said this prompted Agrizzi to ask Venter how much he wanted and Agrizzi said he would pay Venter R335,000 per month if he drafted the statement.

Venter told the commission that Agrizzi explained to him that he would be able to sustain the R335,000 monthly payment through a contract that the former COO and others had negotiated as an exit package from Bosasa. The contract was one the company had with the department of correctional services.

“He put my mind at ease by explaining it like that,” Venter said.

The statement, however, was not finalised on the day but was later forwarded to Venter, who signed it after receiving several threats.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Bosasa’s former auditor testifies at state capture inquiry

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