Zondo: Suzanne Daniels ‘advanced the project to capture Eskom’

Eskom’s former head of legal compliance Suzanne Daniels may have portrayed herself as an innocent bystander while the Guptas and their associates got their claws on the embattled parastatal, but the State Capture Commission’s chairperson, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo isn’t buying it.

The Presidency released the fourth part of the commission’s report on Friday, 29 April 2022, which focused on Eskom’s affairs at the height of state capture.

When Daniels appeared before the commission, she testified about the extent of corruption at Eskom as well as the Gupta family’s undue interference. She spoke of how she opened up to colleagues about the situation at the utility and had even been talking anonymously to journalists.

“In my view, it is not clear how early Ms Daniels became embroiled in state capture. There is no doubt that she knowingly advanced the aims of the project to capture Eskom,” Zondo said.

He further accused Daniels of attempting to paint herself in a good light when she testified that she rejected an R800 million bribe from Gupta associate Salim Essa to support Matshela Koko’s return to Eskom.

“I am nonetheless persuaded that she allowed herself to be used as a conduit of state capture at Eskom for the benefit of Mr Essa and the Guptas,” he further said.

DID SUZANNE DANIELS HAVE A ROLE IN ESKOM CORRUPTION?

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo found there were several instances of Suzanne Daniels being complicit in state capture at Eskom, including when she sent confidential information about the utility to a mysterious email address.

“She allowed herself to be used to enable payments to be made to Trillian which she knew to be legally unjustified. She was party to the approval of a payment by Eskom of some R134 million to Trillian that she knew to be unlawful”

“She was party to the creation of documents which created the cover for Tegeta to be paid some R659 million ostensibly as pre-payment for coal supplies to Eskom but in reality to enable the Guptas to raise the shortfall in their resources which they needed to pay the purchase price on their transaction by which they bought Glencore’s coal interests. Ms Daniels was also instrumental in facilitating the settlement of the R2.17 billion penalties of OCM for around R255 million after OCM was acquired by Tegeta”

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo