I was not close to the Guptas, says ‘Mr Cash’

DEPUTY Chief Justice Raymond Zondo jokingly described Transnet’s former Chief Financial Officer Anoj Singh as “Mr Cash” following his testimony at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture yesterday.

Justice Zondo said he found it “very peculiar” that Singh’s driver testifiedhe would allegedly fetch suitcases of cash from the Guptas and deposit it into safety deposit boxes, use only cash to pay for his travel agent and again use only cash to settle his hotel bills that sometimes amounted to over R60 000. “It’s like you're Mr Cash,” Justice Zondo told Singh.

Singh had been fielding questions about his tenure at Transnet.

Questioned about him using the same travel agent as Gupta-owned company Sahara Computers and their associate Salim Essa, Singh said it was a mere coincidence. He also denied knowing that his flights and accommodation were mostly allocated to Essa’s account for payment.

Singh also claimed it was again a coincidence that during his travels to Dubai, he would stay at the Oberoi Hotel which the Guptas were known to frequent.

Singh fumbled over his answers at times when evidence-leader advocate Anton Myburgh questioned his frequent visits to Knox Vaults where he had acquired eight security deposit boxes. He maintained he could not recall what were the contents of his boxes but they were related to personal items and documents. He also denied using those boxes to store cash that was given to him by the Gupta family, as was alleged by Singh’s former driver who gave the commission evidence previously. Myburgh presented receipts showing that Singh could have paid up to R35 000 a year for all of the boxes.

At first, Singh said he could not recall why he acquired that many boxes or why he had increased their sizes to large and extra large. He later told the commission he and his ex-wife were going through a separation then and he used the boxes to store items he was moving out of his home. In 2016, he cancelled the facility and returned the keys, stating he no longer required the boxes.

Singh denied he was a close acquaintance of the Gupta family despite admitting he celebrated some religious ceremonies at their Saxonwold home and was invited to the infamous Sun City family wedding.