State capture-accused Eric Wood, who flew out of the country last weekend, enjoyed a decade in which his wealth skyrocketed at the height of state capture.
Wood, 59, convinced the specialised commercial crimes court in Palm Ridge earlier this month that he was not a flight risk and it was in the interests of justice he be allowed to visit his elderly and sickly parents in Grand Canaria, one of the Spanish Canary Islands.
After spending time with his parents, while staying with a friend in Grand Canaria, Wood intended visiting his daughter Zara in London and returning to Johannesburg before the end of the month.
He left behind assets, worth an estimated R450m, held under restraint by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) asset forfeiture unit. Among them are a Limpopo game farm, several luxury vehicles and a palatial home worth more than R30m in Johannesburg’s most expensive suburb, Sandhurst.
Wood has a penchant for exclusive supercars and his fleet once included only one vehicle worth less than R1m, in a collection of six worth nearly R14.5m. They included a McLaren 650S worth R5.2m, a Porsche 911 Turbo S cabriolet (R3.1m) and a Ferrari 458 Italia (R3m).
In March 2015, according to the #TrillianLeaks emails which the Sunday Times broke in December 2019, Wood estimated his assets for insurance purposes to be R618m.
In Spain, he has access to €65,000 (R1.14m) through an investment abroad, the court was told.
His investment company Regiments, in which he owned a 32% stake alongside co-directors Litha Nhyonhya and Niven Pillay, benefited handsomely from parastatal Transnet scoring a share of payments amounting to more than R3bn from March 2013 to March 31 2017, according to the Fundudzi report which investigated allegations of irregularities at Transnet.
Wood’s phone rang unanswered and he did not respond to a request for comment sent via text and WhatsApp. The messages, however, had been read last week Friday ahead of his departure.
His personal fortune grew from his pre-state capture days in 2007, when he was already worth between R98m to R166m in 2010 before this ballooned to R618m five years later during the height of state capture.
The #TrillianLeaks emails showed that he knew Nhlanhla Nene would be fired as finance minister, about seven weeks before he was axed by former president Jacob Zuma, a move that cost SA billions of rand.
Hi Salim. As discussed, I have quickly jotted down a few points for the FM (finance minister). These are not comprehensive — in time I’m sure I can develop a more comprehensive list.
— What Eric Wood wrote in an email to Gupta partner Salim Essa, about Des van Rooyen whom he knew would be appointed finance minister
An email, dated October 26 2015, which Wood wrote to Gupta business partner Salim Essa, shows how he apparently positioned them to benefit from the move that saw Des van Rooyen appointed as Nene’s replacement on December 9 2015, a move he was well aware of.
“Hi Salim. As discussed, I have quickly jotted down a few points for the FM [finance minister]. These are not comprehensive — in time I’m sure I can develop a more comprehensive list,” wrote Wood.
There are allegations that Regiments, with Wood at the helm, may have benefited from having such insider information. The Organised Crime & Corruption Reporting Project, in a report in the FM in May 2019, laid out how Regiments allegedly made between R100m and R500m from insider information.
The former investment banker is now charged alongside former Transnet bosses Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gama, former CFO Anoj Singh, former acting CFO Garry Pita and his former Regiments co-directors Pillay and Nyhonyha, his employee Daniel Roy and alleged Gupta fixer Kuben Moodley in a fraud and corruption case involving R398m.
The charges relate to millions which Transnet paid to Trillian for organising a multibillion-rand club loan to help buy 1,064 locomotives. It was allegedly a double payment as Transnet had already paid Regiments, where Wood was also a director, for the work. Trillian allegedly did nothing to earn the fee but invoiced Transnet regardless.
Wood was also a CEO of Trillian, which had Gupta-associated Salim Essa as its majority shareholder during the heyday of state capture. A warrant of arrest was issued for Essa, believed to be in Dubai, on charges stemming from the locomotives transaction advisory tender which was awarded to the McKinsey-led consortium in 2012, resulting in the procurement of 1,064 locomotives worth over R54bn.
NPA investigative directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the charges related to Wood’s company Regiments Capital, which was allegedly irregularly onboarded and ended up benefiting from the irregular appointment by Transnet in respect of the contract.
“The contract value and scope for the services required was later escalated to more than R305m. This agreement included, among other services, the sourcing of the China Development Bank loan and the club loan, which were in the amount of $2.5bn, on behalf of Transnet, which was equivalent to R30bn at the time,” Seboka said.
Wood was arrested in May and released on R250,000 bail with the proviso that he hand over his two passports which he’s now expected to hand over again upon his return from Europe.
Wood is accused of defrauding Transnet, using Regiments and paying Moodley and Essa gratifications, according to the provisional charge sheet. They are due back in court on October 14, where a final charge sheet is expected to have been completed and shared with their lawyers.
The amendment to his bail condition was granted despite strong opposition by the state, which unsuccessfully opposed his application labelling Wood a possible flight-risk and drawing similarities among him, the Gupta family and controversial prophet Shepherd Bushiri, who escaped justice by skipping the country.
I suspect that my father’s health is deteriorating at such a rapid pace that I am at risk that it might be the last time for me to see him.
— Eric Wood in an affidavit read out at court before the court relaxed his bail conditions allowing him to travel
Wood, who wore a Covid-19 face mask throughout proceedings, travelled to court in a modest white Audi A4 sedan with his legal team who prepared a compelling argument to have his bail conditions relaxed and his British and SA passports handed back for his overseas travels.
Wood’s lawyer Adv Estelle Killian told the court her client had known for a while he was being investigated and if he intended leaving SA he had ample time to do so before his arrest four months ago.
“I suspect that my father’s health is deteriorating at such a rapid pace that it might be the last time for me to see him,” Wood stated in his affidavit read into record by Killian.
Killian argued that Wood was almost 60, had all his assets in SA and it would not be in his interests to start over elsewhere.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.