Johannesburg - State-owned freight, rail and logistics company Transnet is investigating the payment of millions of rands to Gupta-linked firms Trillian and Regiments Capital dating as far back as 2005.
The commission of inquiry into state capture on Wednesday heard that the company had not investigated the payments prior to 2010 but was currently probing them, according to Transnet’s acting governance, risk and compliance manager Helen Walsh.
Walsh told the commission chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo that the payment dating back to 2005 mainly came from subsidiaries and divisions Transnet Freight Rail, Transnet Group Capital and Transnet Group Services.
She said payments to Trillian, Regiments and another Gupta-linked company were not exclusive to the transaction advisory services for the acquisition of the 1 064 locomotives.
The commission has previously heard how Regiments and McKinsey were paid R305 million and R11m respectively for providing transaction advisory services for Transnet's acquisition of 1 064 locomotives.
Walsh said McKinsey was not paid for transaction advisory services for the acquisition of the 1 064 locomotives but Transnet allocated payment to another project named, SWAT1, which she said was not an acronym and just a word that was chosen.
She said she could not explain how the payment was allocated to another project and that it is derived from what McKinsey informed Transnet.
Transnet’s payments to McKinsey date back from 2006 and include an amount of R75.84m.
Walsh said with regards to payments prior to January 2010 she was not aware of any investigation.