Court freezes R76.5m in assets linked to alleged Eskom relay fraud

Businessman Siyabonga Nkosi accused of inflating relay prices by over 11,000% through collusion with power station officials.

The Special Investigating Unit has secured a court order freezing 17 properties and seven luxury vehicles worth R76.5m belonging to businessman Siyabonga Moses Goodwill Nkosi and his network of trusts². The preservation order, granted by Judge BM Ngoepe, prevents the assets from being sold or hidden while the SIU moves to recover funds allegedly stolen from Eskom².

The SIU investigation uncovered that between 2021 and 2023, officials at Eskom's Kusile and Matla power stations in Mpumalanga allegedly approved inflated and irregular purchase orders for electrical relays, equipment critical to keeping the grid stable¹². Nkosi's companies charged Eskom R50,000 per relay unit, while the market price ranged between R180 and R450¹³. This represented a mark-up exceeding 11,000%³.

SIU spokesperson Selby Makgotho said the manipulation resulted in a direct financial loss of R73.6m to Eskom¹. "Instead of delivering reliable service, Nkosi's companies delivered invoices," Makgotho stated¹³.

According to the SIU, Eskom officials deliberately bypassed procurement processes by splitting purchase orders to keep transactions below the R1m threshold, abusing the informal tendering system¹. False part numbers were uploaded to ensure only colluding vendors could bid¹. Makgotho said costs were inflated for equipment that was never needed and remains unused in stock years later¹.

Between 2021 and 2023, Nkosi acquired 10 luxury properties, including land in three provinces valued at approximately R50m, and purchased five supercars including two Lamborghini Urus vehicles³. The frozen assets include two Porsche vehicles and seven houses purchased before the alleged fraud commenced³. Nkosi's first property, a house in Zimbali, KwaZulu-Natal, was purchased in February 2021³.