Andries van Tonder picks up where Angelo Agrizzi left off at Zondo commission

Former Bosasa chief financial officer Andries van Tonder made his debut at the Zondo commission briefly on Tuesday, January 29. His first full day kicked off on Wednesday, January 30.

Here are some of the big moments in his testimony.

The cash vault

During a short appearance on Tuesday, Van Tonder detailed how his relationship with Bosasa boss Gavin Watson deteriorated. 

Van Tonder also revealed that he was the one who took the infamous video footage of Watson's walk-in cash vault that was played during former Bosasa chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi's testimony. 

Van Tonder claimed that Agrizzi asked him to capture the footage after receiving information that Watson would place the blame on him and Van Tonder for any possible illegal conduct. 

Mum as SIU probes Bosasa 

Van Tonder alleged that the company's executives made a pact not to expose each other when the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) started looking into Bosasa in 2009.

"It was agreed that there was a pact formed and everybody should abide by the rules of this pact in terms of not speaking to anybody about the wrongdoings in which we were implicated in the SIU report," Van Tonder said.

Van Tonder claimed that Watson reassured employees that everything was under control as he had access to influential people in government including the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority. 

Krugersdorp farm 

During his testimony on Wednesday, Van Tonder provided details on the company's failed aquaculture project called SeaArk Africa which was created to breed seawater prawns in a controlled environment.

Van Tonder said Bosasa used up to R50m on the project paying for consultation fees over three years. 

After its failure, SeaArk was renamed Bosasa Supply Chain Management which, according to Van Tonder, could be used for income-tax management. 

When the SA Revenue Service (Sars) conducted an investigation into the company's use of the assessed losses and equipment write-offs reflected in its book, Van Tonder said Bosasa had to build a prawn production facility in Krugersdorp to show Sars that the SeaArk project was still operational.