Anoj Singh admits having 8 deposit boxes at Knox Vault, disputes he stored Gupta money in them

Former Transnet finance boss Anoj Singh has changed his tune about the number of safety deposit boxes he rented at the Knox Vault.

Singh previously told the Zondo commission that he had four boxes for members of his family: himself, his wife and his two children.

However, faced with cold facts on Thursday, provided to the commission by Knox Vault, Singh was forced to change his tune.

Records revealed that Singh had eight safety deposit boxes with the company, rented during 2014 and 2015.

According to Singh's former driver, who has previously testified at the commission, these boxes were used by his ex-boss to store money he had been given by the Gupta family.

The driver claimed that he would drive Singh to the Gupta compound occasionally, after which he would emerge with a sports bag stuffed with cash and instruct the driver that their next destination was Knox Vault.

Receipts from Knox Vault reveal that Singh upgraded to large, extra-large and XXL deposit boxes between May 2014 and February 2015.

The boxes were six large ones, one XL and an XXL.

Quizzed on why he had claimed to have had only four boxes, when in fact he had double that number, Singh said previously he “was testifying from memory”, hence he could not recall the exact number of the boxes he rented.

Evidence leader advocate Anton Myburgh pressed him on his upgrading to bigger boxes.

Singh said during that period he was going through a separation from his wife and had moved out of their home. He needed to store some personal belongings in a safe place.

How did Singh get to Knox Vault during his nine visits in 2014 if he disputes that his driver was his transporter?

Singh claims to have used his personal car, driving himself, which was always parked at Transnet offices from Monday to Friday.

Commission chairperson deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo chipped in: “What do you say to the proposition, if your version is to be believed, that you might not have wanted him [your driver] to see because you had something to hide about your visits to Knox Vault?”

Singh replied: “These were personal matters and I did not want him to be part of these matters.”

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