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Singh members. (Photo: Gallo Images)
- Former Transnet CFO Anoj Singh revealed on Friday the name of a witness whose identity was withheld for security reasons at the State Capture Commission.
- In 2020, former SAA president Dudu Myeni revealed the identity of a witness while defending himself against his evidence.
- Singh rejected Witness 3’s evidence and claimed that some people who worked for the commission provided him with information.
Former Transnet CFO Anoj Singh revealed on Friday the name of a witness whose identity had been withheld for security reasons since the witness gave evidence that heavily implicated Singh before the State Capture Judicial Investigation Commission on last year.
Singh, who was making his first appearance before the commission, largely rejected evidence from a man known as “Witness 3” before blurting out his name.
The unexpected disclosure of the witness by his first name was followed by an awkward silence in the courtroom, before Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo called for a postponement of the proceedings.
Witness protection has received strong attention in the commission following the attack by Witness 1, who also testified before the commission last year.
Last week it was reported that Witness 1 had survived a bullet ambush, in what he told the media that he believed was an attempt on his life.
Singh denied the version presented by Witness 3, which suggested that men of Chinese descent handed him a bag full of cash while attending an executive meeting in front of Transnet’s offices at a shelter in Vereeniging in July 2014. The men had entered at the scene with a brown gym bag that Singh asked Witness 3 to bring to his car.
Witness 3 said he discovered that the same bag was still in the car when he wanted to take the vehicle in for washing at the end of the week. The witness said that he noticed that the bag was lighter than it was when he had brought it to the car in Vereeniging, and when he opened it, he saw rolls of R200 banknotes. He said he alerted Singh via SMS, who then went downstairs to collect the bag.
It was during this time in his testimony that Singh mentioned the man’s first name.
Singh called Witness 3’s memory of events a “fabrication.”
R100K part of the ‘game money’
The witness had also testified about the many times he had taken Singh to a Knox Vault safe in Houghton, where he would go after visits to Gupta’s home.
Sing admitted that he had four to five safes in the Knox Vault, where he kept family valuables such as jewelry, documents and cash. He said that up to R100,000 in cash was kept in the vault.
The trial leader, attorney Anton Myburgh, wanted to know the source of the funds.
“I was involved in the gambling business from time to time, participated in casino games, horse racing and also did some financial consulting work,” he said. He said he visited the vault at least once a month.
But while he denied the credibility of Witness 3 and his visits to the vault, he said the witness may have received information from someone who worked for the commission and had a list of people who had safes in Knox Vault.
It is not the first time that a person implicated has disclosed the name of an undisclosed witness. Last year, former SAA president Dudu Myeni named a protected witness because he rejected his evidence. The act provoked a strong reprimand from Zondo.
As CFO of Transnet and later Eskom, Singh was a central figure in bidding and loan-related transactions by the two state entities that are at the center of the state capture allegations.
His professional conduct has brought him disciplinary charges from the South African Institute of Public Accountants (Saica). The professional body later terminated his membership and found him guilty of 12 of the 18 misconduct charges against him.
