What you need to know about the latest #GuptaLeaks

TRAIN WRECK: The Guptas and Transnet

On Thursday AmaBhungane and Scorpio published its first exposé from the #GuptaLeaks which show how President Jacob Zuma’s friends and their associates are diverting billions of rands from Transnet’s purchase of locomotives to their offshore accounts.

This story presents the most direct evidence yet of the Guptas and their associates amassing fortunes offshore by tolling contracts at state-owned entities they control.

The investigation reveals that Zuma’s friends and their associates:

• Entered kickback agreements totalling R5.3 billion with the Chinese manufacturer that became Transnet’s favourite locomotive supplier.

• Influenced procurement processes through their associates at Transnet.

• Are pocketing R10 million from each R50 million locomotive that Transnet is buying.

Read the full article here.

FILE: President Jacob Zuma and Atul Gupta. Picture: GCIS.

THE IMMIGRATION GAME: Malusi’s machinations

President Jacob Zuma replaced Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan with Malusi Gigaba, who inevitably stands under a cloud of suspicion. Thanks to a leaked trove of data from the heart of the Gupta empire, the cloud is growing heavier.

The #GuptaLeaks reveal new evidence that immigration officials may have been captured by the Guptas - including two who were specially positioned in India by Gigaba’s office when he was Home Affairs Minister.

Emails show how senior Gupta employee Ashu Chawla repeatedly asked these two and other officials to fast-track visas to benefit Gupta businesses as they moved dozens of employees, associates and family members between South Africa, India and Dubai.

Read the full article here.

Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba. Picture: Christa Eybers/EWN.

GETTING COSY WITH KOKO: The capture of Matshela

The #GuptaLeaks have exposed the extent to which Matshela Koko - once tipped to become Eskom chief executive - appears to have been captured by the Guptas.

Last month Koko stood down as acting chief executive and went “on leave” pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations that he channelled lucrative contracts to a company partly owned by his 26-year-old stepdaughter.

Now the #GuptaLeaks provide further evidence of a cosy relationship with the Saxonwold family too.

Leaked emails now show that:

• In December 2015 the Guptas’ Tegeta Exploration and Resources lobbied Koko for a massive R1.68-billion prepayment, which would have allowed it to fund much of the Optimum Coal acquisition. While this appears not to have happened, it is known that Koko headed up a late-night meeting in April 2016 that approved a smaller, R659-million prepayment;

• Koko may have leaked a highly-sensitive Eskom legal opinion to the Guptas; and

• Koko stayed in a luxury Dubai hotel at the Guptas’ expense.

Read the full article here.

Matshela Koko. Picture: eskom.co.za

SCION OF THE TIMES: Duduzane a channel for influence

Duduzane Zuma, the 35-year-old son of President Jacob Zuma, emerges from the #GuptaLeaks as kept and captured by the Gupta family, serving as a key channel for influence on official decision-making, including his father’s.

The files suggest that the Guptas took care of his every need, from paying for a Mauritian getaway for him and his then girlfriend in 2012, to funding his lavish multi-million rand marriage to Shanice Stork in April 2015, to setting him up with an R18-million Dubai apartment in the world’s tallest skyscraper, the iconic Burj Khalifa.

Read the full article here.

President Jacob Zuma's son, Duduzane Zuma. Picture: Supplied.

WHAT HAPPENS IN DUBAI… SOE execs drop by

If the Guptas were looking for anonymity Dubai wasn’t far enough.

The #GuptaLeaks confirm that the Guptas bought a 10-bedroom mansion in the millionaires’ suburb of Emirates Hills in Dubai for R331 million in July 2015.

Discussions on renovations to the property coincide with the arrival in Dubai of a steady stream of executives from seemingly captured state-owned entities.

These appear to include Eskom’s former acting chief executive Matshela Koko, Eskom chief financial officer Anoj Singh, Transnet chief executive Siyabonga Gama, and Denel chair Daniel Mantsha, all of whom were put up in suites in the Oberoi Hotel paid for by the Guptas’ Sahara Computers.

Read the full article here.

The skyline of Dubai pictured from the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world standing at 828 metres, in May 2017. Picture: AFP.