Guptas in the crosshairs
THE Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) have confirmed that they were waiting for a response from India and the United Arab Emirates on a request to extradite the Guptas to South Africa.
They also confirmed that they had appointed a senior official to sit on the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture to gather facts and evidence to pursue some of the cases.
Head of the Hawks Godfrey Lebeya was briefing the portfolio committee on police when he disclosed progress made in some of the high-profile cases they were investigating.
Lebeya said that while there had been progress in some of the cases, they were finalising investigations in some of the matters.
A number of people have been implicated in the Zondo Commission and some of the cases relate to facilities management company Bosasa.
The Hawks are also investigating the Eskom case with Tegeta and Trillian.
Lebeya said they did not want to miss any evidence at the Zondo Commission.
“We have seconded a colonel in the Zondo Commission to work with the commission and we don’t want to miss anything,” said Lebeya.
He also told MPs that progress had been made in the investigation into the purchase of Optimum coal mine by the Guptas.
He said they were investigating the R659 million pre-payment made by Eskom to Tegeta to buy the mine, and the use of the rehabilitation fund to the value of more than R1.4bn.
At the Zondo Commission this week, senior officials at Eskom have spoken about how the illegal dealings in the pre-payment made them uncomfortable and that this transaction was pushed through within two to three hours.
The Hawks were also waiting for a forensic report on the Eskom and Tegeta investigation.
Lebeya said they were also making progress in the investigation into embattled Steinhoff.
“On this matter, an application of mutual legal assistance was finalised and sent to Austria, and we are waiting for feedback on it,” he said.
The collapse of Steinhoff in December 2017 triggered an investigation by the Hawks and other law enforcement agencies in South Africa.
The company lost more than 90% of its value during an accounting fraud scandal. The Hawks have obtained 21 statements from witnesses on the Steinhoff investigation.