Slowly the State Capture prosecution is moving forward.
Both companies, alongside ABB South Africa (ZAABB) employees – Mohammed Essop Mooidheen and Vernon Pillay, and their wives Raeesa Mooidheen and Aradhna Pillay – have been implicated in a broader corruption scandal related to Eskom contracts during the state capture era.
In 2023 the High Court granted the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (NPA AFU) a restraint order totalling R583.8m against assets linked to the former employees of the Swiss Eskom contractor Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) and other parties, including Impulse International and Indiwize Construction.
NPA Investigating Directorate spokesperson, Sindisiwe Seboka, explained that “the offences were allegedly committed in relation to contract prices in 2016 and 2017 between ZAABB, as a subcontractor of Eskom, and Impulse.”
“It is alleged that the contract was unlawfully concluded and that the contract price was inflated.”
Kusile corruption
The case centres around allegations of corruption, money laundering, and fraud involving inflated contracts awarded to ABB and its subcontractors, including Impulse International.
Allegations point to ZAABB winning the C&I tender through a scheme that involved mainly some ABB employees, the Leago Group’s chairman Thabo Mokwena and Matshela Koko of Eskom.
When the alleged relationship between Koko and Mokwena had deteriorated, a new scheme was devised involving Impulse.
Koko’s stepdaughter was then appointed as a shareholder and director of Impulse for a period in 2016.
Former ZAAB senior employees abused their authority to benefit Impulse, and both played a role in the irregular approval decisions and the manipulation of procurement and governance processes to favour Impulse, Impulse’s appointment and the payment of excessive rates.
Cash and cars
Seboka said that in exchange for these favours, Mooidheen, his wife Raeesa, Pillay and his wife Aradhna had received gratification from Impulse, which had been laundered through Indiwize.
Impulse and Indiwize also had the same director, the late Pragasan Pather.
These kickbacks came in the form of cash and motor vehicles that had been registered in the names of Raeesa and Aradhna to hide the proceeds of the crimes they had been charged with, namely, corruption, money laundering and fraud.
Additionally, the winding-up order must be served on Indiwize Construction at its registered office and published in the Government Gazette, as well as in a national newspaper.
The court’s liquidation order against Indiwize Construction marks another significant step in the ongoing legal proceedings stemming from these corruption allegations.
