Former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene’s son was instrumental in facilitating a controversial investment deal between the Public Investment Corporation and a Mozambican oil refinery.
This was revealed by an executive head of impact investing, Rouith Rajdhar in evidence before the commission of enquiry into allegations of impropriety in the PIC.
He says a multi-million Rand Mozambican oil deal was pushed by Senior Executives and highly connected facilitators at the PIC.
The PIC continued to invest and inject billions of Rands into the Mozambican S&S oil refinery despite its owner Momade Rassul facing a string of corruption and money laundering allegations in his country.
“Sometime in February 2014 then chief investment officer gave me an investment proposal prepared by BDO in Mozambique, it had no contact detail and I asked the CIO for the contact persons and he provided me with the contact details of Mr Siyabonga Nene. When I received the proposal from the Chief Investment Officer and he had given me the contacts of Mr Siyabonga Nene I had automatically understood that he was interested in the transaction so but when he had come into the meeting he had come with another gentleman Mr Ameer Mirza.”
According to Rajdhar, former finance minister, Nhlanhla Nene‘s son partnered with the PIC for a 25% equity stake valued at 29 million each in that investment in Mozambique. He says the deal was approved and subjected to due diligence.
Despite Nene’s father being chairperson of the PIC and deputy minister of finance at the time of the deal, the PIC still went ahead and did business with Nene’s son.
Rajdhar says Nene’s son later dropped out of the deal.
“At the meeting Mr Nene introduced himself and a gentleman called Mr Ameer Mirza and Mr Meerza indicated that he and Mr Nene owned a company called Indiafrek and wished to participate with the PIC in acquiring 50 percent of S&S refinery. They requested the PIC to fund their portion of the transaction.”
Watch video below:
