State Capture-era 'slush fund' deposits linked to Molefe align with Gupta contact, investigation finds

More than R11.3 million in cash deposits is at the centre of an investigation into finances tied to State Capture.

A Daily Maverick investigation examined transactions from an alleged State Capture era ‘slush fund’.

The payments were made in hundreds of small transactions to a company allegedly linked to former Transnet and Eskom CEO Brian Molefe.

Investigative journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh says the way the money was deposited immediately raised red flags.

“That's always going to be interesting and suspicious from an investigation's point of view."

Myburgh explains how this latest report follows a Daily Maverick piece published earlier this month linking Molefe to several 'outflows' from the receiving account.

Money from the account is believed to have been used for personal expenses, including a wedding and overseas travel.

"A whole range of, it seemed to be, lifestyle expenses seemed to be covered from this account."

This latest report looks more closely at the inflows to the account.

"We look at how the money went into this account over that nearly five-year period, circa 2013 and 2018."

From there, Myburgh explains, the investigation attempted to pinpoint where most of the money went into the account and factors linking it to Molefe.

ALSO READ: Records linking Brian Molefe to millions of rands in unexplained deposits uncovered

The deposits, which were often between R5,000 and R10,000, were made at ATMs near places where Molefe lived and worked.

But, as Myburgh notes, the money was transferred to an account belonging to a company called Palcocap, not Molefe's personal account.

"There's some arm's length, but what's curious is he's very closely associated with the director of Palcocap."

Some of the transactions also appear to align with periods when Molefe was in contact with the Gupta family.

"In about 2017, the State of Capture report famously detailed Brian Molefe to Saxonwold, but also the Gupta brothers and some of their associates... I've now compared that timeline to the Palcocap visits."

Myburgh says his investigation shows that, on the majority of occasions, there was contact between Molefe and the Guptas, on the same day or the day after, money would be deposited into the Palcocap account."

To listen to Myburgh in conversation with 702's Bongani Bingwa, use the audio player below: