By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
More Transnet executives have been arrested this morning by the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks.
In a statement issued this morning the Investigative Directorate (ID) said the suspects were due in the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court at 9am.
Former Transnet former group chief executive, Brian Molefe and former finance head, Anoj Singh were among those arrested.
They will be added to the existing Transnet state capture case, adding to the list of five current accused.
Five people, including former Transnet group CEO Siyabonga Gama, have already been charged in the case.
The matter stems from a payment of R93 million to Trillian Capital, a Gupta-linked proxy company, to secure funding for the purchase of the locomotives.
The transaction advisory contract was initially awarded to global investment bank JP Morgan before the deal was cancelled. It was subsequently awarded to Trillian.
The estimated cost of the project ballooned from around R38 billion in 2012 to more than R50 billion.
In its report, the State Capture Commission recommended that the police investigate Molefe, Gama and Singh for their alleged roles in siphoning money from Transnet to the Gupta family.
A 2018 forensic report found that Molefe had misled the state owned entity’s board about its obligation to inform then-public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba about the spike in the project’s costs.