Hawks Arrest 8 People for R2 Billion Fraud Case Involving Irregular Eskom Contracts

• A joint operation between the National Prosecuting Authority and the Hawks has resulted in the arrest of eight people
• The suspects were connected to irregular contracts awarded for the construction of Kusile Power Station
• The group are being charged with fraud, corruption and money laundering

MPUMALANGA - The Hawks have apprehended eight people concerning R2 billion worth of unlawful contracts awarded for constructing Kusile Power Station.

The authorities arrested the suspects during the early hour of Thurday morning, 27 October, in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Former Eskom top boss Matshela Koko, his wife Mosima and his stepdaughter Koketso Choma were among those arrested.

Koko was at the helm of Eskom when Swiss engineering firm ABB scored a R2.2 billion contract to work on the power station in 2015, EWN reported.

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NPA nabs former Eskom boss Koko, his wife and stepdaughter for state-capture related corruption

The arrested individuals are expected to appear at the Middleburg Magistrate's Court in Mpumalanga.

SABC News reported that the National Prosecuting Authority's(NPA) Investigative Directorate (ID) spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka confirmed that the group were arrested on fraud, corruption and money laundering charges.

Seboka added that the directorate worked closely with the Hawks, DPCI and other stakeholders to secure the arrest.

South Africans react to arrests by Eskom

South Africans took to social media to weigh in on the arrests.

Here are some comments:

@llutladi joked:

"Is loadshedding one of those eight?"

@RandomizedCrea1 said:

"The house of cards is starting to crash."

NPA arrests former Eskom boss Koko, his wife and stepdaughter for corruption

In a related story, Briefly News reported that former Eskom chief executive Matshela Koko, his wife Mosima and his stepdaughter Koketso Choma have been arrested on corruption charges.

Read also

10 Undocumented foreign nationals arrested at landfill during joint operation in Nelson Mandela Bay

The arrest was carried out by the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) Investigating Directorate and relates to a multibillion-rand contract between the power utility and Swiss engineering company Asea Brown Boveri (ABB).

The Citizen reported that ABB outsourced to Impulse International, a local company where Choma was a shareholder. Koko's stepdaughter allegedly received R30 million from the deal, some of which were passed to Mosima Koko.

Source: Briefly News