McKinsey not honest about relationship with Regiments and Trillian: Singh

Former Eskom CFO Anoj Singh has insisted that consultancy firm, McKinsey Consulting, knew that Gupta-linked firm, Trillian Capital, was doing work with them.

Singh returned to the Commission on State Capture on Monday. His testimony was based on the development of the Eskom corporate plan during his tenure as Chief Financial Officer at the power utility.

Singh has told the State Capture Commission that consultancy firm, McKinsey Consulting, was not honest about its relationship with Regiments and Trillian in its affidavit to the Commission last year.

Singh told Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo that McKinsey is trying to distance itself from Gupta-linked firm, Trillian Capital, while there is evidence that Trillian was part of the sub-contracting team when they signed a multi -million rand deal with Eskom.

In March, Singh admitted that Eskom paid about R30.6 million to investment firm Trillian, which has been linked to the controversial Gupta family, without a valid contract in place. He is alleged to have favoured the Guptas, who received lucrative Eskom contracts while he was the power utility’s chief financial officer.

Between 2015 and 2016 Mckinsey, together with Regiments, were awarded a contract worth R30 million. This was to help Eskom develop a corporate plan. However, McKinsey cancelled its contract with Regiments because it wanted to change to Trillian. McKinsey says it never did any work with Trillian, but subcontracted part of its work to Regiments.

Singh told the commission that Trillian personnel and staff were always part of the Mckinsey/Regiments deal and that Mckinsey signed a letter, stating they knew Trillian was part of the team.

He claims that Trillian is running away from its correspondence between the Regiments/Trillian corporate plan contract they signed with Eskom. He says Mckinsey had signed a letter knowing Trillian would get paid by Eskom for work it did on the corporate plan.

Singh told the commission Mckinsey directors met with him regularly to discuss the contract which went through their legal team – hence they cannot claim ignorance.

He returns to the stand on Tuesday.

The Commission hears Eskom-related evidence from Anoj Singh:

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