Former Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama is one of five people arrested. They were arrested on suspicion of violating the Public Finance Management Act and fraud, corruption, and money laundering.
Sindisiwe Seboka, a spokesperson for the Investigating Directorate, said the five would appear in court this morning.
Former Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama and Eric Wood from the Gupta-linked companies Regiments Capital and Trillian Capital Partners are two of the five, according to News24.
Eric Wood From Siyabonga Gama Arrested
On Friday, former Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama and Trillian’s Eric Wood, and three other executives appeared before the Palm Ridge specialized commercial crimes court.
Former Transnet finance head Garry Pita, ex-treasurer Phetolo Ramosebudi, and Trillian co-founder Daniel Roy are the other defendants.
The five arrests were announced by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate (ID) early on Friday, with the accused facing allegations of allegedly violating the Public Finance Management Act, fraud, corruption, and money laundering.
They joined alleged Gupta family fixer Kuben Moodley, who was arrested in September in connection with the case, according to ID spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka.
Moodley’s arrest on charges of fraud, theft, corruption, and money laundering was linked to contracts allegedly improperly awarded by Transnet to Regiments Capital and Trillian and alleged robbery from the Transnet Second, Defined Benefit Fund by Regiments Fund managers, according to TimesLIVE at the time.
Former Transnet officials, including Pita, are among those whose transactions with the Guptas and their associates should be examined, according to state capture investigation chairperson Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
SA Trillian’s Boss Charges
Eric Wood, the CEO of Trillian Financial Services, was arrested with the four others were detained at Alberton’s Brackendowns police station.
The arrest was announced by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate (ID) early on Friday, with the accused facing allegations of allegedly violating the Public Finance Management Act, fraud, corruption, and money laundering.
What Did He Do?
The CEO of Trillian Financial Services, Eric Wood, refers to South Africa’s most excellent trader. In December 2015, he was thought to have profited from currency trading based on inside information; Jacob Zuma, the former president, was set to fire the finance minister. On the other hand, Wood’s financial ties to the Zuma and Gupta family appear to go considerably more profound than illicit trading.
Investigative journalists Khadija Sharife and Mark Anderson have uncovered an extensive trail of deals meant to siphon large sums from South Africa’s state entities and then move the monies through the global financial system, well beyond the reach of local authorities, in one in-depth report. Wood was recently ordered to repay R600 million in Eskom funds.
This startling new material reveals that Wood is one of the primary masterminds behind Zuma’s and his political partners’ state capture strategy. The Guptas may have pulled Zuma’s strings, but it appears that Wood and his business partner Salim Essa, a Gupta acquaintance, were the ones who worked out the details of how to put the state capture idea into action.