Politicians fingered in plot to shut Independent Group

AN ELABORATE plan to subject senior executives of companies under Sekunjalo to another illegal surveillance and bug their phones has emerged, sparking concerns that state organs were again being used to settle personal and business scores.

According to a reliable source who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, some powerful politicians have hatched a plot, using state organs, aimed at causing irreparable harm to Independent Media SA and its major shareholder, Sekunjalo Investment Holding, in what has been seen as a serious threat to the country’s media freedom.

The source told Independent Media Investigations this week that Sekunjalo Group executive chairperson Dr Iqbal Survé and his family were also the targets of the plot, which mirrors a previous one which saw the offices of the company’s subsidiaries raided last year in a co-ordinated campaign involving law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies.

At the time, documents and computer hard drives were confiscated from Survé’s private office at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town as well as other premises in an early morning raid, which led to a public outcry and accusations of abuse of state resources and the persecution of the businessman.

Sekunjalo and the Public Investment Corporation are involved in a legal battle over loan repayments, which has

allegedly been orchestrated by some senior politicians and Cabinet members with the aim of taking over control of Independent Media, the country's biggest English language media group.

The group has recently exposed several scandals involving President Cyril Ramaphosa's administration, including the R1 billion CR17 funding saga and the R16bn Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement irregularities.

The sources said pressure by a current minister and a former minister, whose names are known to Independent Media, is being applied on state agencies – such as the SA Revenue Service (Sars), the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA), the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and the commercial wing of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) – to conduct raids on Sekunjalo Investment Holdings, which owns Independent Media, and related companies.

Sars would not confirm or deny the claims that the taxman was involved in going after these companies.

“In terms of Chapter Six of the Tax Administration Act, Sars is not permitted to discuss or disclose confidential information regarding any taxpayer,” Sars said.

Its commissioner, Edward Kieswetter, was also approached but failed to respond.

Alex Pascoe, the head of the directorate of the market abuse investigation team at the FSCA, denied that there was a high-level operation.

The FSCA and Sekunjalo are embroiled in a court matter involving a raid by the authority on Sekunjalo's offices in October 2019.

In response to questions, Pascoe would only refer to an FSCA statement issued months before the 2019 raid and which stated: “The FSCA is mandated to investigate, and, in appropriate instances, take enforcement action in cases of market abuse on the financial markets …

“Our investigation procedures include interviews under oath, acquiring documentary evidence and obtaining assistance from foreign regulators.”

The FIC said its role was to assist in identifying the proceeds of crime, combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and did not extend to conducting investigations.

“For this reason, the FIC is unable to answer your questions as they relate to investigations, which is outside its mandate,” the FIC said in its emailed reply.

Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale initially said: “I am waiting for a response from the investigators.”

Further feedback from Mogale had not been received by deadline.