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The head of the KwaZulu-Natal Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and former AFU acting director Knorx Mollele have been suspended.
According to two high-ranking sources within the National Tax Authority (NPA), and a third in the Justice Department, Molelle was suspended this week by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola. The sources, who spoke to News24 on condition of anonymity, said the suspension was due to the appointment of conservators in two separate cases in which arms of the state tried to recover funds lost from the state capture.
News24 understands that the national director of public prosecution, Shamila Batohi, recommended the suspension of Molelle, which was accepted by Lamola.
The former is understood to relate to R 1 billion in fees paid to the multinational consulting firm McKinsey & Company by Eskom. Trillion Capital Partners, a local financial advisory firm with close ties to the Gupta brothers, received R600 million in fees as a “supply development partner” from Mckinsey.
In 2018, when a lawsuit filed by the NPA rose to prominence, McKinsey voluntarily returned his fees to Eskom.
Although these funds were already “secured,” a source said, Molelle was adamant about naming a Durban-based firm of curators.
“The curator did not take control of the money because it was not necessary, but the company was paid more than 18 million rand.
“The money was in the [Eskom] bank account, the curator would not have had any role, “alleged the source.
The other case that allegedly signaled Molelle’s suspension was the tainted Estina dairy farm scam. The provincial government of the Free State had funded the Estina project to the tune of R220 million, with only R2 million spent on the farm, with the remainder diverted to the Gupta family and their associates.
Molelle was appointed acting head of the AFU during the tenure of former NDPP defender Shaun Abrahams.
He headed the asset recovery arm of the NPA when it brought an action against the Gupta family and their companies in connection with the Estina case. The criminal charges were provisionally dropped and the provisional restraining order was lifted in May 2018.
“The curator claims to have restricted R700m in assets, however only R250m was insured. The fees paid to curators are a percentage of the total restricted amount.
“The curators were either not working or their bills were extremely inflated,” the source alleged.
Justice Department spokesperson Crispin Phiri referred requests for comment to the NPA. NPA spokesman Sipho Ngwema could not be reached for comment.
Repeated attempts to contact Molelle on Friday were unsuccessful.
This is a story in development.
