It was a busy week on the corruption front. News broke that the Guptas have been sanctioned by the US Treasury, closing the net around their empire. Angelo Agrizzi sought and won a postponement ahead of a tough cross examination. And the Financial Sector Conduct Authority raided the offices of Sekunjalo Investment Holdings and African Equity Empowerment Investments, whose chairman Iqbal SurvĂ© launched a counteroffensive aimed at Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan for alleged misbehaviour. All in all, a week with plenty for South Africans to digest. Join Alec Hogg and I as we dive into these stories. – Felicity Duncan
It was a week of highs and lows in the ongoing struggle against corruption in South Africa. The much-anticipated cross-examination of former Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi by Kevin Wakeford – whom Agrizzi has accused of corruption – was postponed at Agrizzi’s request. South Africans will have to wait some more before they get to hear Wakeford’s defence and his counteraccusations. The Zondo Commission is working hard to untangle the many webs of lies being spun by accused wrongdoers. It is no easy task.
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On a more positive note, one task that can be ticked off the To Do list is the formal sanctioning of Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh Gupta. On Thursday, the US Treasury announced that it was sanctioning the Guptas for their involvement in “a significant corruption network in South Africa that leveraged overpayments on government contracts, bribery, and other corrupt acts to fund political contributions and influence government actions.” This is a serious matter for the Guptas, who will find themselves increasingly shut out of the US-dominated financial system. The net is tightening.
Also read:Â Gupta sanctions put state capture specialists KPMG, PwC, McKinsey back in spotlight
Another entity that seems to be getting itself entangled in a net is Sekunjalo, which was raided by the FSCA last week. In response, Sekunjalo chair Iqbal Survé aimed various accusations at public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan. Gordhan dismissed the accusations as a desperate bid to distract from wrongdoing at Survé’s businesses. It’s going to take a long time for South Africans to see clear, what with all the mud being thrown. But in the end, the truth will out.
