Eskom said it welcomes the convictions of former contractor -Michael Lomas and businessman Hudson Kgomoeswana.
The Gauteng Local Division of the High Court, in Johannesburg, convicted the pair on Friday, for 34 charges of corruption relating to payments made between February 2015 and April 2017.
This relates to historical procurement irregularities and corruption linked to the construction of the Kusile Power Station project.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Lonas was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, which will be suspended for a period of 5 years. This is due to considerations on several factors that include his age and health, his remorse for participating in corrupt acts, as well as the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the case.
“The conditions are that he should not be convicted of fraud, theft and/or the contravention of PRECCA. He will further provide the State with evidence against some of the accused in the main case.”
Lomas’ attorneys and the AFU continue to try and reach a settlement agreement regarding his assets.
The NPA said Kgomoeswana also pleaded guilty to one count of corruption in the contravention of PRECCA, 18 counts of money laundering and 15 counts of Contravention of the Tax Act.
The charges relate to payments of over R6 million allegedly paid to a former Eskom senior employee as gratification from Tubular Group of companies, through Babinatlou Business Services, owned by Kgomoeswana.
Kgomoeswane retained the amount of R757 000 for making available his accounts to facilitate corrupt payments.
Following certain factors being considered, which include the seriousness of the charges, the remorse expressed by the accused, the interests of the complainants, SARS and Eskom Holdings, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on the corruption and money laundering charges of which 10 years are suspended for a period of 5.
He was further sentenced to 5 years direct imprisonment on 15 counts of the contravention of the Tax Administration Act for evading tax.
This sentence is expected to run concurrently with the 5 year sentence relating to the corruption and money laundering charges.
The accused has consented to the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) to confiscate his assets valued at over R2.4 million. He will also provide the state with evidence on his participation in commissioning of the offence.
Eskom said it notes this outcome as another important milestone in the ongoing and unrelenting efforts to hold accountable those who sought to unlawfully enrich themselves through the misuse of public funds.
“The organisation remains an active participant in coordinated initiatives led through the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), the Energy Safety and Security Priority Committee and other government-led structures established to combat fraud, corruption, theft and related criminal activities” said Eskom in a statement.