De Ruyter’s intelligence reports exposing corruption at Eskom – Hawks taking action
The head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI – aka the Hawks) says that intelligence reports commissioned by former Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyer need to be backed up by evidence – so it’s launching a full formal investigation to do just that.
The intelligence reports became a highly controversial topic earlier this year after it was found that De Ruyter had sought millions of rands in funding from business groups to launch an unsanctioned investigation into crime and corruption at Eskom.
The reports – which came to be known as the Fivaz reports – underpinned De Ruyter’s explosive comments made during an interview broadcast in February, in which he alleged that networks of criminal cartels and mafias tied to high-profile politicians were sabotaging and milking Eskom dry.
Instead of treating De Ruyter as a whistleblower on widespread corruption at Eskom, the former CEO was essentially vilified for the allegations and kicked out the utility earlier than his March 2023 exit date.
The reports were also cast in doubt, with media outlets outright rubbishing the allegations contained in them and political players questioning their integrity.
This launched a long process where the reports were finally handed over to the authorities, including the Hawks and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), where any potential intelligence could be assessed.
Reporting the findings on the documents to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday (12 September), the Hawks found that parallels existed between the reports and other ongoing investigations and recommended that steps be taken to launch a full and focused criminal investigation take place.
However, De Ruyter, Fivaz and even the private funders of the intelligence gathering exercise are far from being vindicated – with the SIU mulling its next moves to take action against the players who launched an unauthorised and possibly illegal independent investigation into a state company.
Reports in focus
The Hawks received the Fivaz on 22 June 2023. It also set up follow-up meetings with the Fivaz group to clarify certain issues raised in the reports.
The analysis comprised 348 individual intelligence reports, including 23 liaison reports, and covered 1,150 pages. Liaison reports were clustered together to cover criminal association and criminal activities, the Hawks said.
“Certain roleplayers” were implicated in multiple reports, it said, with the intelligence indicating interconnectivity and networking between syndicates.
Broadly, the criminal activities identified by the intelligence reports included:
- Direct sabotage, where syndicates, workers and contractors allegedly damaged infrastructure to put pressure on Eskom to use emergency procurement – at elevated prices – to fix the problems.
- Indirect sabotage, where contractors purposely omitted basic maintenance with the aim to cause damage so their services would be needed, benefitting their operations.
- Procurement fraud and corruption: where identified companies belong to subjects of identified groupings and were awarded contracts following the correct procurement procedures.
- Manipulation of Eskom stock
- Fraudulent invoicing and documentation by syndicates
- Corrupt security officers signing off non-existent deliveries
- Coal mafias orchestrating coal theft and operating illegal coal yards
- High-ranking prominent and influential officials involved in alleged criminal activities, including with Eskom employees, SAPS members and security personnel
- Intimidation and threat of violence towards Eskom employees
- “Extensive and life-threatening intimidation” towards any person who becomes an existential threat to the criminal activities.
The Hawks’ findings
The Hawks found that the intelligence reports made many allegations towards entities, groupings and individuals but contained no proof to back them up. No illicit activity among the groups identified has yet been confirmed.
However, it said that this does not mean that the matter should be dropped.
“The gathered intelligence needs to be corroborated, as the potential exists to investigate the matter further,” it said. “Reliability and accuracy of information needs to be verified in the form of a deposed affidavit from Eskom.”
“The magnitude of allegations within the intelligence reports necessitate the DPCI to further analyse, collect, collate and assess in order to make an informed decision on the correct investigation methodology which might need to be initiated.”
The Hawks said that, even without the Fivaz reports, the group acknowledges that the allegations of widespread criminality within the entire value chain of the business activities of Eskom persist.
This poses a severe threat to Eskom, the electricity supply and the whole of South Africa.
As such, the Hawks and the SIU have expressed a mutual willingness to take a focused criminal investigation further, “with impact”.
However, the SIU stressed that this should not be seen as taking direction from the intelligence reports – as these investigations were already underway before they came to light.
Regardless, the Hawks said it is formalising a multi-disciplinary task team, comprising investigators from Gauteng (national), Limpopo and Mpumalanga to collect evidence and investigate the allegations.
Further engagements between the Hawks and the SIU over the Fivaz reports will also take place, it said.
The collaboration on the matter will be extended to crime intelligence, the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), Eskom and the National Prosecuting Authority, it said.
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