Trillian Capital denies Gupta family has any stake or interest in the company

Trillian Capital Partners on Sunday denied that the Gupta family had any shareholding or other interest whatsoever in Trillian Holdings.

The company was responding to a story in the Sunday Times which stated that the “Gupta-linked company” knew of the axing of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene two months before it happened – “and scored millions from state-owned companies for work it never did”.

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The newspaper said a whistleblower's affidavit to former public protector Thuli Madonsela laid bare how Trillian CEO Eric Wood had briefed some of the company's top executives about Nene's axing during a meeting at its Melrose Arch offices in October 2015.

“The whistleblower‚ a former CEO of a Trillian Capital Partners business unit who reported directly to Wood - which is owned by Gupta associate Salim Essa - has fled the country after revealing‚ in detail‚ an elaborate plan for Trillian to secure a number of lucrative contracts from the Treasury‚ including the nuclear deal‚” the newspaper reported.

In a statement on Sunday‚ Trillian charged that the allegations were “factually incorrect‚ grossly misleading and indeed sensationalist”.

“The insinuations and claims that Trillian Capital Partners and its Chief Executive Officer‚ Dr Eric Wood‚ are somehow party to the activity that has recently enjoyed many print columns and has been styled ‘state capture’ are quite simply untrue. Those wild and unsubstantiated allegations have extremely damaging repercussions for the reputation of an emerging and growing black-owned Financial Services Group and to that of Dr Wood‚” the company stated.

“The Gupta family has no shareholding or other interest whatsoever in Trillian Holdings. It has no link to Trillian Holdings or to any of the other constituent members of the Trillian group of companies‚” Trillian added.

It referred to the whistleblower – whom it named – as “a disgruntled former employee” who it alleged had “committed a number of criminal offences”‚ adding that a criminal prosecution would shortly ensue.

“Trillian reiterates that it is confident that as far as its actions are concerned‚ all due processes were followed and that it delivered high-quality work and value to all its clients. The company continues to conduct its business in keeping with the highest standards of corporate governance and service delivery‚ and will continue do so‚” the company said.