A former Eskom financial executive and the head of a transport firm responsible for delivering coal to the power utility have been released on R20,000 bail each.
Victor Tshabalala, 49, and Barnard Moraka, 45, appeared before the specialised commercial crimes court in Palm Ridge on November 5 for allegedly defrauding Eskom of approximately R34m.
Moraka, who was arrested in October and made his third court appearance on Thursday, was tasked with processing and receiving invoices, and is accused of having cooked up 53 invoices to reflect work done by Megra Transport CC between 2016 and 2019. The state alleges no such services were rendered by the company for the embattled power producer.
Tshabalala is the owner of Randburg-based Megra.
Moraka is accused of submitting the invoices for payment to Megra, claiming it had transported coal from Palesa Mine in Mpumalanga to Forfar or Clewer, where Eskom plants are located.
"Hawks’ serious commercial crime unit in Johannesburg effectively apprehended Moraka in October and Tshabalala on November 5 this year, and charged them for fraud," said Hawks spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mulamu.
The matter was postponed to November 21 2019.
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