Open Secrets is a non-profit organisation which exposes and builds accountability for private sector economic crimes through investigative research, advocacy, and the law.
Pressure is mounting on President Cyril Ramaphosa to act against minister of justice & constitutional development Thembi Simelane, after she admitted to soliciting a loan from a company that facilitated payments from the Polokwane municipality to the now defunct VBS Mutual Bank.
As we step into Spring, let’s take a moment to reflect on the highlights of July and August. We celebrated Dulcie September’s remarkable life and honored Women’s Month through a Listening Cinema; we released our 2023/2024 Annual Report; and Open Secrets Radio has two new episodes…
Non-profit organisation, Open Secrets, is calling for – what it terms – the heads of the architects of corruption at Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) to roll.
Head of investigations at Open Secrets, Michael Marchant says it is suspicious that Simelane claims the money she received was allegedly a legitimate loan, but cannot provide documentation to prove that.
Lester Kiewit speaks to Michael Marchant about how the Justice Minister Thembi Simelane needs to respond urgently to reports she received a loan of over R500 000…
In this episode of Open Secrets Radio, host Mamello Mosiana dives deep into Zimbabwe’s latest corruption scandal involving the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission
In 2023/24, the Open Secrets team bravely took on some of the biggest rogues in our midst. We did this with zest and zeal and in partnership with other civil society organisations.
The supplier of the troublesome voting management devices (VMDs) used in South Africa’s 2024 elections has been linked to convicted fraudster Wicknell Chivayo, the owner of a company that controversially secured “exclusive” Starlink distribution rights in Zimbabwe.
In this episode of Open Secrets Radio, we discuss the key issues surrounding the potential implementation of a Basic Income Grant in South Africa and ask, who stands to profit? Tune in as Open Secrets investigators Abby May, Zen Mathe, and Michael Marchant dive into the concept of a basic income grant as a form of social protection; its potential to address poverty and inequality; and concerns around the digitization of South Africa’s grant system.
In the fourth episode of the African Climate Alliance Podcast’s Cancel Coal season, Zen Mathe and Michael Marchant from Open Secrets uncover the power and money dynamics within South Africa’s energy landscape as well as the lessons that can be learned for achieving an equitable and just energy transition.
The organisation Open Secrets revealed in its latest investigation that Christoph Huber, a Swiss national living in Cape Town, is suspected of having made millions from the war in the DRC.
Leaked documents and voice notes suggest that SA company, Ren-Form, inflated a tender for the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission by 235%, while its politically connected partner, Wicknell Chivayo, made payments to mystery officials.
A Swiss businessman is alleged to have found significant business opportunities in the 1990s war that killed six million Congolese. A new investigation by Open Secrets, published here for the first time, has tracked him down to the picturesque southern tip of Africa, where he lives in million-rand homes.
Open Secrets’ Micheal Marchant says the NPA needs to look at its internal systems following the leak of an explosive affidavit on the VBS case.
Explore the global connections that fuelled one of history’s most devastating genocides. Learn how arms dealers and financial institutions played crucial roles, making profits at the expense of human lives.
Cape Town-based non-profit organisation (NPO) Open Secrets wants Pretoria resident Willem “Ters” Ehlers prosecuted for aiding and abetting the April 1994 Rwanda genocide.
Open Secrets is petitioning the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute a South African man for allegedly aiding and abetting the Rwandan genocide.
We are seeking accountability for a key player in the Rwandan Genocide, we launched the Gupta Tracker, and made a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change.
JOHANNESBURG – Advocacy group Open Secrets has petitioned the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute a former apartheid government official for his involvement in the Rwandan genocide 30 years later.
Open Secrets submitted a memorandum to the NPA motivating for the prosecution of Willem “Ters” Ehlers, a South African currently residing in Pretoria, for the offence of aiding and abetting the Rwandan Genocide.
Open Secrets and the Access to Information Coalition for the Energy Sector (ATIC) submitted a crucial report to the UN Special Rapporteur for Climate Change.
Lester Kiewit speaks to Michael Marchant, head of investigations at OpenSecrets, about what happens now that former Eskom bosses Matshela Koko and Brian Molefe have had the cases against them dropped by the NPA.
From in-depth investigative reporting on the potential profiteers of a Basic Income Grant, to our relentless pursuit of legal accountability for those implicated in State Capture in Zimbabwe, Open Secrets continued to pursue accountability in May.
The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation invited Open Secrets investigator Luvano Ntuli to be a panelist on their webinar “Let’s talk about Sudan: The Consequences of Unfinished Revolutions”.
In the first two instalments of this series, we examined the weakening of the social grants payment system in South Africa and how private companies are entering the space looking to profit from access to a still largely untapped market.
Access to online platforms for grant application and payments can reduce the time and money recipients spend applying for and accessing their grants and make it safer to do so.
The Post Office and Postbank have failed to manage the social grants payment system. But the private sector is not an easy fix either.
The failures of the Post Office and then Postbank have led to suggestions that the private sector should play a larger role in the payment of social grants. In this article we show that South Africa’s social grants history reveals the dangers of thinking private companies are the easy answer.
Public debate around a Universal Basic Income Grant (UBIG) has focused on fierce disagreements about its economic benefits, whether it is financially feasible for South Africa, and if so, what the value of the grant should be. As UBIG campaigning takes centre stage in the 2024 elections, Open Secrets asks an equally important but often overlooked question: who will administer the payment of those grants?
This is the repository of documents and primary source material cited in Unaccountable 40 and 41 focussing on Ters Ehlers and BNP Paribas.
Newsletter: April 2024 Accountability and Peace in South Africa, Eswatini, and the DRC We are continuing to broaden our reach. This month our pursuit of justice and accountability for economic crime took us from South Africa to Eswatini and the DRC. #AllEyesOnCongo: Peace, Justice and Accountability in the DRC On the 11th of April 2024…
Newzroom Afrika | National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi says the National Prosecuting Authority’s comeback story after state capture has been nothing short of remarkable.
Thabo Shole-Mashao speaks to Michael Marchant, the head of investigations at Open Secrets and Stephanie Fick, the executive director of the accountability division at OUTA about the effectiveness of the NPA in the past five years.
by Hennie van Vuuren and Abby May Published in the Financial Mail Eswatini central bank red-flags Farmers Bank licence Eswatini finance minister Neal Rijkenberg projects an air of ordinariness. His sensible suits, likely bought off the rack, are only rarely swopped out for Swazi traditional dress. But Rijkenberg is far more colourful than his looks…
In part 2 of the Swazi Secrets investigation we expose, Mitchelo Shakantu who has built a business empire with stakes across the Eswatini economy.
Swazi Secrets leak exposes the violence and corruption of eSwatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy
Open Secrets is looking for an experienced legal practitioner to head up its legal unit, based in Cape Town.
Join us on the 11th of April for a transformative networking evening hosted by Open Secrets and PPLAAF. Together, let’s forge alliances and ignite change in the DRC through meaningful dialogue.
This is the third in a series of articles on corruption and irregular money flows from PRASA’s dealings with Swifambo Rail Leasing. It follows the auditors and lawyers who cashed in on corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency, neglecting their professional duties.
This is the second in a series of articles on corruption in PRASA’s dealings with front company Swifambo Rail Leasing. It focuses on the activities of Makhensa Mabunda and Auswell Mashaba, the men who orchestrated the purchase of unusable locomotives for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).
This article is the first in a series of articles on corruption in PRASA’s dealings with a front company called Swifambo Rail Leasing. It focuses on Vossloh, a European rail technology company, which made billions of rands through a dubious partnership with Swifambo.
Radio Islam South Africa’s civil society has unveiled a report demanding actionable steps be taken to address state capture. The collective response, presented in Braamfontein, reflects the collaboration of civil society organisations within the Civil Society Working Group on State Capture, focusing on the findings of the Zondo Commission. Letlhogonolo Letshele, from Open Secrets, speaking…
The collective civil society response is a reflection, by civil society organisations within the Civil Society Working Group on State Capture (CSWG), on the Zondo Commission and the State Capture report.
Hantu | Megan Mannion African coastlines are the newest commodity up for grabs and those involved in the latest scramble are not unfamiliar faces. International corporations such as CGG (UK) and TotalEnergies (France) are among the fifteen other foreign companies vying for the right to seismic test and/or drill for oil and gas along the…
Gaynel Curry and Luvano Ntuli discuss structural inequalities and its relationship to systems of oppression as well as histories of exploitation and marginalization.
Sharing their experiences of living in the shadows of Mpumalanga’s coal mines and power stations, community members and activists said that the health impacts of coal use are vastly understated and not widely understood on all levels.
Lester Kiewit speaks to Michael Marchant, head of investigations at OpenSecrets, about Shamila Batohi’s five years at the helm at the National Prosecuting Authority, and whether she is making a dent in the country’s massive corruption problem.
NPA head Adv. Shamila Batohi has been in her role for five years but few people have been found guilty of state capture graft. Open Secrets’ Micheal Marchant says it’s not fair to blame only one institution for corruption but adds that under Batohi impunity continues to thrive.
KPMG has signed a confidential settlement with VBS Mutual Bank
Takudzwa Pongweni | Daily Maverick South Africa now falls into the category of ‘flawed democracies’. The latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index says efforts to fight public sector corruption are faltering. The index partly blames a global decline in justice and the rule of law. Transparency International on Tuesday released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report. …
2023 was a busy year for Open Secrets. Our team of investigators, campaigners, and lawyers challenged powerful – and in some instances dangerous – profiteers and human rights abusers. We published four new investigative reports – including our first on climate profiteers – and continued the fight for justice and accountability for perpetrators and enablers of economic crime and human rights violations.
defenceWeb The senior communicator at the South African Department of Defence (DoD), Siphiwe Dlamini, told defenceWeb he does not respond to “insults”. This was in reaction to a hard-hitting Daily Maverick editorial in the wake of a media conference last week where SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya, made public the official…
State-owned company PetroSA used to produce diesel and other fuels from gas at its refinery in Mossel Bay. But in 2020, it ran out of gas… and money. Two decades of woeful investments, scandals, absence of governance, and profligacy had rendered the company bankrupt. But Minerals and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, has refused to let…
Generals from the top echelons of the South African National Defence Force on Thursday denied the allegations of the existence of a military squad responsible for acts of torture and murder. But they deflected on providing factual responses to many of the allegations.
In the past week a Open Secrets published “Russian Doll 3: Exposed- SANDF ‘Torture’ Squad” and “Russian Doll 4: The ‘SANDF’ Torture Squad Victim, Pule Nkomo speaks out’. On Sunday, Carte Blanche in partnership with Open Secrets also published a report into allegations of torture in the military. This is a significant story of human…
defenceWeb The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) for access to a report into criminal activity in the military as allegations continue to swirl over rogue unit activity that includes kidnapping and torture. DA Shadow Minister of Defence…
On Thursday, 7 December 2023 the SANDF is hosting a press briefing to address what they refer to as “allegations in the media and public domains”.
SABC Morning Live Open Secrets has published a series with allegations of criminal activities within the South African National Defence Force. The organisation alleges there exists a rogue unit responsible for acts of torture and murder. According to Open Secrets, the group comprises the Special Forces Brigade, the Military Police, Defence Intelligence and Defence Legal…
This is a story about the bad and the brave and how an investigator on a dark journey exposes shocking secrets at the heart of the South African National Defence Force.
Open Secrets exposes a military squad allegedly responsible for acts of torture and murder. The evidence implicates at least four units of the SANDF in crimes dating back to 2019. They are the elite Special Forces Brigade, the Military Police, Defence Intelligence and Defence Legal Services.
Open Secrets has implicated SANDF’s four units in alleged acts of torture and murders dating back to 2019. The organisation says it has it on good authority that the implicated SANDF members are stealing weapons and are using them to commit crime
Open Secrets exposes a military squad allegedly responsible for acts of torture and murder. The evidence implicates at least four units of the SANDF in crimes dating back to 2019.
The Competition Commission’s investigation into 28 banks for alleged price fixing involving the rand has again shone the spotlight on the conduct of banks and financial crimes.
The ongoing failure of South Africa’s investigative bodies and prosecuting authority to secure accountability for high-level corruption and economic crime is one of many serious risks to the country’s future.
The Middelburg specialised commercial crimes court struck former Eskom boss Matshela Koko’s fraud, corruption and money-laundering case off the roll due to unreasonable delays. Phemelo speaks to the Head of Investigations at Open Secrets, Michael Marchant about the case.
A new report by Open Secrets found that some private corporations are lining up to profit from the proposed energy transition. Open Secrets head of investigations Michael Marchant says the push for new energy creates an opportunity for corruption.
Open Secrets is hiring two outstanding candidates (one Intern: Investigations and one Intern: Campaigns) to join our team in Cape Town.
Tomorrow, 15 November, Open Secrets launches its latest report: Who Has the Power? South Africa’s Energy Profiteers. The report is Open Secrets’ first to investigate South Africa’s energy sector and climate crisis. And shines a light on the private interests who seek to profit from South Africa’s current energy crisis and proposed energy transition. It…
In the final part of this two-part series, we take a deeper look at the ways GovChat might undergo a commercial revival, who might benefit from ownership of its database, and the implications this may hold for the South African social grants system.
Local technology company GovChat became a key partner of the South African Social Security Agency during the pandemic. Today, the company continues to provide a digital avenue to apply for certain grants, even though it is in business rescue and its executives resigned in 2022. This is Part One in a two-part series
Join Open Secrets on the 15th of November 2023, for the launch of Who Has the Power? South Africa’s Energy Profiteers. Open Secrets’ Michael Marchant will be in conversation with Zen Mathe, Abby May and Luthando Vilakazi. Human rights and environmental activist, Kumi Naidoo will also be delivering a key note address on the role of activists in ensuring a just transition.
Court Order and Section 131 Application Annextures
Open Secrets stands with the Palestinian people. We call for an immediate ceasefire by the Israeli occupation forces and an end to Israeli apartheid.
Public hearings into the National Prosecuting Authority Bill, which will see the establishment of the Investigative Directorate Against Corruption, began today. Open Secrets says it’s concerned about the operational and financial independence of the new body. Lawyer at Open Secrets Luthando Vilakazi has more.
On 25 October 2023 Open Secrets made a presentation to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee of Justice and Correctional Services on the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill B29-2023. The Bill attempts to make a range of amendments including creating a permanent Investigating Directorate called the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC).
In 2022/23, the Open Secrets challenged impunity with the usual tenacity and grit, talking truth to power and challenging who we call the ‘Unaccountables’.
We’ve added our voice in opposition to Treasury’s attempts to institute severe budget cuts. We believe these cuts are misguided, dangerous to our economy and well-being, and not supported by robust evidence.
SABC News The DA has welcomed Parliament’s Ethics Committee recommendation to the National Assembly that the EFF Chief Whip, Floyd Shivambu be fined nine days salary after the committee found that the breached the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members’ Interests. The committee found that Shivambu failed to disclose payments to him from…
We are pursuing accountability for the facilitators of state capture in Zimbabwe. This includes a Mauritian management company agent, UK based company administrators, South African law firms and lawyers and South African registered companies.
South African Police Service Colonel Frans Mathipa was shot in the head and killed by unknown assassins on Sunday, 6 August 2023. Were SANDF Special Forces soldiers the skilled shooters who murdered a seasoned investigator in the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State Unit? If they were, could this explain a court application by the SANDF days before his assassination intended to stymie Mathipa’s investigation into the SANDF’s role in two abductions and potentially other crimes? Open Secrets investigates.
Open Secrets and the Campaign for Free Expression lodged an information application with the Office of the President asking for the final report (and additional relevant information) on the docking of the Lady R Russian cargo vessel during December 2022.
Political parties in Parliament have expressed mixed reactions following the outcome of the Lady R vessel probe. On Sunday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa told the nation there’s no evidence that South Africa sold weapons to Russia.
A new investigative report by Open Secrets highlights once more how consultants greased the wheels of state capture. Big-name global consultancies have been implicated in helping South Africans to capture State-Owned Enterprises to serve corrupt ends.
Noluthando Mthonti-Mlambo speaks to Luvano Ntuli, Investigator at Open Secrets about their new report, “The Consultants – A Corporations and Economic Crime”.
SABC News The mystery surrounding the death of respected Hawks detective Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa deepens. He was killed in a an apparent ambush at the Hammanskraal exit after what would have been a meeting with suspects in a matter he was investigating. Reports suggest that he was probing the kidnapping of Abdella Abadiga a…
A new report by Open Secrets, revealed here exclusively, details just how consultants have pillaged the state. So how can this disturbing trend be reversed, given the country’s skills crisis?
In The Corporations and Economic Crime: The Consultants, Open Secrets profiles McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Three companies that occupy immensely influential seats at the tables of the world’s most powerful corporations and governments.
South Africa finds itself at the centre of severe criticism for having a approved arms exports worth about R9.2-billion to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 2015, when the two countries started their military invasion on Yemen.
Cabinet has now approved the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill. Ra’eesa Pather, Investigator at Open Secrets talks to POWER Breakfast host Thabiso Tema on what this means for the return of the Scorpions
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is one of the world’s largest consulting firms. Its corporate mission is to “unlock the potential of those who advance the world”. What BGC fails to mention is that this includes its clients who are kleptocrats and dodgy corporations
16 August| This is the repository of documents cited in the 34th profile of the Unaccountable series which focusses on Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Please join FM editor Rob Rose and the Open Secrets team for the launch of the The Consultants. We will be discussing the destructive power of BCG, McKinsey and Bain toSouth Africa, and what can be done to hold them to account.
A round-up of news updates, including a look at threats by Santaco to take the City of Cape Town to court over the recent impounding of taxis.
Hennie van Vuuren, Director of Open Secrets, revealed information about Colonel Frans Mathipa, who was shot and assassinated by unknown killers, and an allegation there is a link to the SANDF Special Forces.
Hennie van Vuuren joins John Maytham to explain an Open Secrets Investigation that has aimed to uncover critical links to the August 6 murder of a seasoned investigator in the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State Unit, SANDF, Isis and the Lady R.
Open Secrets says that it now has some evidence that appears to link the assassination of a senior member of the Hawks to an SANDF special forces unit that may also have been involved in the abduction of an Ethiopian
What was an SANDF Special Forces UNIT doing in Simon’s Town when containers were loaded off and on the Russian vessel the Lady R? Open Secrets investigates.
Lester Kiewit speaks to Ra’eesa Pather, senior investigator at Open Secrets, about the investigation into former NPA head of public prosecutions, Andrew Chauke and what is known about his role in state capture.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to receive the Lady R independent panel report today. The retired judge Phineas Mojapela led the panel which was tasked with investigating allegations that South Africa sent weapons to Russia which had invaded Ukraine in February last year.
Open Secrets is hiring an Administrator to join our small, dedicated Cape Town-based team. Deadline 6 August
Daily Maverick Investigative journalist, Pauli van Wyk will be hosting Prize-winning journalist, Nick Donovan, Head of Investigations at Open Secrets, Michael Marchant & Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development, Janet Zhou to discuss Open Secrets and The Sentry’s latest investigative report: “Fronts, Fakes and Façades”.
Published in New Zimbabwe and AllAfrica Sentry and Open Secrets exposé has confirmed that Zimbabwe has become a mafia state, run and controlled by cartels and syndicates, Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said. In a publicised joint investigative report titled ‘Fronts, Fakes, and Facades: How South African and Mauritian Enables Helped Move Million from…
Michael Marchant explains the findings of Open Secrets and The Sentry’s latest investigative report on state capture in Zimbabwe, Fronts, Fakes and Façades.
By The Sentry and Open Secrets Published in the Daily Maverick A joint investigative report by The Sentry and Open Secrets exposes how Zimbabwean presidential adviser and business tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei – the subject of numerous corruption allegations – was able to move suspect funds from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to the City of…
SAfm’s Aldrin Sampear is joined by Michael Marchant to discuss the findings of Open Secrets and The Sentry’s latest investigative report titled: ‘Fronts, Fakes, and Façades’.
Mike speaks to Peter Ndoro about our Zimbabwe state capture investigation.
ZimLive The report, “Fronts, Fakes, and Façades: How South African and Mauritian Enablers Helped Move Millions from Zimbabwe to Britain,” focuses on three payments that secured Tagwirei’s purchase of two Zimbabwean mines—Bindura Nickel and Freda Rebecca Gold Mine. Tagwirei, already surrounded by corruption allegations at the time of the deal, sought to create an offshore…
Channel Africa’s Peter Ndoro speaks to Michael Marchant to find out more about Open Secrets and The Sentry’s latest report, Fronts, Fakes, and Façades.
In 2019, Zimbabwean presidential advisor Kudakwashe Tagwirei moved millions of dollars in suspect funds from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to London to buy two Zimbabwean mines— Bindura Nickel and Freda Rebecca Gold Mine—for $29.5 million.
PRESS RELEASE| A joint investigative report by The Sentry and Open Secrets exposes how Zimbabwean presidential advisor and business tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei, was able to move suspect funds from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to the City of London.
Zim State Capture | Response from a representative for Mr. Kundomal and Capital Horizons
On Thursday the 6th of July, Open Secrets and The Sentry will be launching our new investigative report, Fronts, Fakes and Façades. The report tells the story of how a politically-connected oil tycoon in Zimbabwe moved suspect funds from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to the City of London using front companies, fake invoices, and offshore financial façades.
Source material for investigative report- Fronts, Fakes and Façades- How South African and Mauritian enablers helped move millions from Zimbabwe to Britain
The price for negligent or shady auditing has just risen hugely, but will it make a difference to the number of accounting scandals in South Africa?
Open Secrets wrote to the Presidency Director-General seeking clarity and explanation on why the Lady R investigation would be secret with its report not going to be made public.
Open Secrets information requests to the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) and the State Security Agency (SSA) for any documentation regarding South Africa’s attempts to extradite Atul Gupta, Ajay Gupta and Rajesh Gupta.
Open Secrets is calling for public access to evidence of South Africa’s involvement in an alleged weapons transfer to a Russian vessel
Director of Open Secrets, Hennie van Vuuren is calling on the Presidency and the US government to make public details of the mysterious cargo of the Russian vessel Lady R which docked in Simon’s Town in December 2022.
Open Secrets has challenged both the South African Presidency and the US government to make public details of the mysterious cargo of the Russian vessel Lady R which docked in Simon’s Town in December 2022.
Democracy dies behind closed doors – Why we demand to know the truth about the Lady R arms shipment.
The most cynical corporations seek to rip off the poor. Few have been as effective as Net1 and Cash Payment Services (CPS). While they have rebranded, they have not paid back their illicit profits owed to millions of South Africans
This is the repository of documents cited in the 38th profile of the Unaccountable series which focusses on Net 1 and CPS.
Niren Tolsi | Mail & Guardian Originally published in The Continent- Issue 124 During the last years of apartheid, Willem “Ters” Ehlers could feel the political tides turning. His boss, president PW Botha — who had vehemently defied all calls for reform — was under pressure. Botha’s days of leading his party, and the country,…
Open Secrets delves into the Malo Arms Deal facilitated by South African arms dealer and former secretary to PW Botha, Willem ‘Ters’ Ehlers.
How much did Eskom board members know about the André de Ruyter-initiated probe? And did we learn anything more about the corruption in the power utility?
Join Open Secrets and the Continent on the 11th of May 2023, for the launch of The Secretary. The Continents Simon Allison will be in conversation with Open Secrets’ Mamello Mosiana, Hennie van Vuuren and Luthando Vilakazi
The first state capture case has fallen apart in court. The accused in the R25 million Nulane Investments trial have been discharged due to insufficient evidence against them.
Open Secrets submitted a PAIA request to the Presidency asking for any documentation on how and why Duma Ndlovu and Michael Horn nominations were accepted to receive the National Order Award.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Government confirmed that President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has landed in the Eastern Cape, on a runway he paid for. This is after the UAE denied our request for the extradition of the Guptas.
Accountability in the conduct of judges is certain, even when they’ve retired. This follows the Gauteng High Court’s dismissal of retired Judges Willie Seriti and Hendrick Musi’s bid to challenge
Al Jazeera has broadcast a four party documentary showing how high ranking officials in Zimbabwe are helping people to smuggle gold of that country.
Open Secrets is hiring a Campaigner to join our small team based in Cape Town. Application deadline: 12 May 2023.
The Johannesburg High Court has dismissed an application that would have allowed retired judges facing complaints of misconduct not to be held accountable.
In 2020, Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations laid a complaint with the Chief Justice to refer Judge Willie Seriti and Judge Hendrick Musi to the JSC. This was over their alleged failure to investigate the Arms Deal during the Seriti Commission. The complaint also asked the Chief Justice to consider whether their actions constituted criminal misconduct and, if so, to refer the matter to the NPA for further action. In 2021 Seriti and Musi brought an application to declare the definition of “Judge” in the Judicial Services Commission Act as unconstitutional. The act allows retired judges to be held accountable for their conduct while they were in active service. That application was dismissed in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg yesterday. Open Secrets lawyer Luthando Vilakazi weighs in.
The Johannesburg high court dismissed a constitutional challenge to the Judicial Service Commission Act by retired judges Willie Seriti and Hendrick Musi
Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations welcomes the judgment delivered by the South Gauteng High Court which confirms that judges must be held accountable for their conduct while in active service, even after their retirement.
In an important victory for accountability and the integrity of the judiciary-The South Gauteng High Court has ruled that judges must be held accountable for their conduct while in active service, even after their retirement.
Open Secrets criticises the Justice Department for delays in prosecuting high-profile state capture cases.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invited South Africa to resubmit its application for the extradition of the notorious Gupta brothers, but government sources believe there is no longer any chance that the application will succeed.
Watch Open Secrets’ Head of Investigations Michael Marchant for a webinar conversation with Professor Lukas Muntingh (Dullah Omar Institute), Mbekezeli Benjamin (Judges Matter) and Ra’eesa Pather (Open Secrets) who will help us grapple with how we can seek justice and restitution for state capture crimes.
Register for our upcoming webinar- Accountability for State Capture: Where to now?
Open Secrets is hiring a head of unit for our legal unit based in Cape Town
Civil society organisations call out South African government’s invitation to “Sri Lankan officials with links to alleged war criminals.
The British government has lifted the three-year ban it imposed on Bain and company last year. In August 2022, London placed a ban on its government doing business with Bain and Company.
The #ICMFiles is a series which sheds light on how ICM and its directors made payments to various companies and individuals to flush Transnet money.
This is the third piece in a series on a company called Integrated Capital Management (ICM) and its directors, who enabled and benefitted from state capture at Transnet, but have yet to be held to account.
In part 2 of #ICMFiles series we turn the spotlight on the ICM director who helped the Guptas score big inside Transnet: Stanley Shane
Judgment has been reserved in a legal battle between a pair of retired judges and two NGOs. Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations are seeking a ruling that holds former judges accountable for misconduct during their time in office. Open Secrets Director Hennie van Vuuren spoke to eNCA
Open Secrets went to court yesterday to oppose the application of Judge Willie Seriti and Judge Hendrick Musi that seeks to give immunity to retired judges from accountability
Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations will be heard by a full bench of the South Gauteng High Court arguing that retired judges should be held to account for misconduct they committed while in active service
Two retired judges, who presided over the Arms Deal Inquiry, have challenged the constitutionality of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Act, arguing that, under the Act, “retired judges” should not be included in the definition of judge.
New information obtained by Open Secrets sheds light on how ICM and its directors made payments to flush Transnet money out of sight.
South Africans must send a clear message to multinational companies around the world: you can no longer bribe your way to contracts, enable corrupt political elites, kill off domestic competitors and destroy our institutions.
Mediated Conversation: auditing firm Deloitte had reached a settlement with the company Tongaat Hulette – over the massive auditing scandal at Tongaat.
Open Secrets is hiring a legal intern to join our small, dedicated team based in Cape Town.
Open Secrets Head of Investigations, Michael Marchant, weighs in on the fraud and money laundering Nulane Investments trial
The Budget Justice Coalition has rejected government’s maintenance of an expenditure ceiling and broad fiscal consolidation.
Lawyers and law firms were instrumental in the State Capture project. From prestigious Sandton white shoe firms to crooked small-time attorneys everyone feasted. One attorney who has not been held to account for State Capture crimes is the notorious Daniel Mantsha
Watch Open Secrets’ Zen Mathe in conversation with Moira Campbell (Corruption Watch), Devi Pillay (Public Affairs Research Institute-PARI) and Luthando Vilakazi (Open Secrets) who grapple with how we can address the social costs of state capture and seek restitution for the damage caused.
Open Secrets’ Zen Mathe will be in conversation with Moira Campbell and Devi Pillay. They’ll be exploring how South Africans can address the social costs of state captures and seek restitution for the damage caused.
This is the repository of documents cited in the 37th profile of the Unaccountable series which focusses on Daniel Mantsha.
With a reputation of being incapable of managing the technical constraints of its internal systems, it must be questioned why the South African Social Security Agency and the South African Post Office would make Postbank the preferred partner to take over the administration of social grant payments.
The state has called its second witness in the Nulane case. Seven accused are implicated in a contract that saw R25 million worth of government money going to Nulane Investments to compile a report. Head of investigation at Open secrets Michael Marchant explains.
Annual Report 2021/2022 This year Open Secrets has achieved a milestone—this small but feisty and fearless organisation has turned five. What started as an idea has, through tenacity and dedication, become an authoritative civil society voice on the need to hold the powerful to account, especially big corporations that have profited off impunity.
LHR and Open Secrets in Court Today defending the right to access apartheid records
The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture’s media statement on the president’s response to the State Capture Report.
Despite glaring evidence available in the public domain, the findings of the Zondo Commission and a fresh criminal investigation in Germany, South African authorities seem uninterested in holding T-Systems to account.
Open Secrets Director, Hennie van Vuuren, weighs in on the Zuma vs. Downer and Maughan case.
This is the repository of documents cited in the 36th profile of the Unaccountable series which focusses on T systems.
Michael Marchant speaks to Sakina Kamwendo about the nearly R50 billion in Unpaid Pensions that belong to almost 5 million people in Southern Africa
Nearly R50 billion. That is how much greedy and negligent pension funds and pension fund administrators owe to almost 5 million people in Southern Africa in unpaid pensions
Sello Maema is the prosecutor inside the NPA who led three of the authority’s most questionable cases at that time. Allegations of Maema’s misconduct were documented in Open Secrets’ latest investigative report: Bad Cops, Bad Lawyers.
28 August| This is the repository of documents cited in the 35th profile of the Unaccountable series which focusses on Johan van der Merwe
Open Secrets is hiring a legal intern to join our small, dedicated team based in Cape Town. Deadline: Friday, 30 September 2022 at 17h00
In December 2021, Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign (UBC), represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), brought an application in the Gauteng High Court against the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). In the spirit of greater transparency and responsiveness to the plight of pensioners, the application asked the Court to ensure…
Sello Maema is the prosecutor inside the NPA who led three of the authority’s most questionable cases at that time. Allegations of Maema’s misconduct were documented in Open Secrets’ latest investigative report: Bad Cops, Bad Lawyers.
2 June 2022 | This is the repository of documents cited in the 34th profile of the Unaccountable series which focusses on Sello Maema
By Luvo Mnyobe Published in City Press This is how democracy dies. These were my thoughts as I scrolled through Twitter and saw a shameful video of Hlaudi Motsoeneng trying to humiliate senior SABC News journalist Francis Herd. Motsoeneng was appearing on Full View, a prime-time news programme, to give his view of the Judicial…
Are the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Hawks dragging their feet on cases of state capture? Social justice NGO Open Secrets thinks so and lays out its arguments in a persuasive new report published in August 2022. There are many who would agree.
Bad Cops, Bad Lawyers — documents how the Hawks and the NPA have failed to take on state capture cases.
Our efforts to bring accountability for state capture conspirators.
Whistle-blowers continue to be targeted within Prasa, and there is little evidence of effective reform. The result is that working-class commuters continue to be let down by failing infrastructure and almost non-existent rail services.
Six weeks have passed since Rajesh and Atul Gupta were arrested in Dubai. It follows a request by the National Prosecuting Authority and Justice Ministry, for the controversial brothers to stand trial for alleged State Capture crimes. Open Secrets Director, Hennie van Vuuren, explains.
The ANC’s devotion to its policy of cadre deployment is an indication that it values its own power more than the public interest.
Point of View with Phemelo Motene How did the State Capture network move billions of rand stolen from the South African people across the globe? The Zondo Commission report provides some of the details of the network of banks who profited from this — but fails to provide any remedy of how to prevent a…
In this series, Open Secrets profiles the prosecutors inside the National Prosecuting Authority who motivated questionable prosecutions and unduly delayed important cases. In this instalment, we focus on Andrew Chauke, the NPA’s head of public prosecutions in Johannesburg.
In this instalment, we focus on Andrew Chauke, the NPA’s head of public prosecutions in Johannesburg.
Investigators at Open Secrets have warned that the Zondo Inquiry’s alleged failure to point out the banking industry and other middlemen in state capture, may undo future work against corruption. Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations jointly submitted an exhaustive report to the commission on the matter, in 2020. They now contend that the inquiry…
With all parts of the state capture report now published, civil society group Open Secrets is gearing up for the new challenge – getting SA’s law enforcement agencies to act.
The Democratic Alliance has laid criminal charges against the ANC for its role in the intricate large-scale corruption that involved specific individuals, government entities, and private companies in what has become known as the state capture. Findings of the State Capture report have implicated some of the ANC senior leaders including former ANC and State…
We’ve had just about a week to digest the latest instalment of the State Capture report. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s failure to address corruption at various levels of government, and within the governing party has been widely criticised. Several parastatals have also been eaten away by dubious deals and corrupt politicians, leaving South Africans with an…
This investigative report traces the networks of capture and corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA, SA Airways, Denel and the SA Revenue Service, and identifies the looters, fixers and politicians who should now be held to account
What do you get if you cross a crooked president, the Gupta brothers and a corrupted ruling party? Hopefully, 20 years to life …
How did the State Capture network move billions of rand stolen from the South African people across the globe? The Zondo Commission report provides some of the details of the network of banks who profited from this — but fails to provide any remedy of how to prevent a repetition of these crimes.
After missing 15 June deadline, the Chief Justice Raymond Zondo Commission has finally submitted part five and six of the report into State Capture. Earlier this week, Guest: Michael Marchant – Head of Investigations at Open Secrets Guest: Cynthia Stimpel – Whistleblower and Author of Hijackers on Board
Clement is joined by Karyn Maughan and Hennie van Vuuren to talk about the arrest of the Gupta brothers in the UAE.
Hennie van Vuuren speaks to Refilwe Moloto about his thoughts on the extradition of the arrested Gupta brothers from Dubai to South Africa.
Director of Open Secrets, Hennie van Vuuren, talks about the Gupta brother’s arrest and the UAE judicial system.
As South Africa’s prosecutors forge ahead with plans to extradite two Gupta brothers, Open Secrets is worried that the odds may be weighed against us.
One non-profit group is worried that the odds may be stacked against SA, in its bid to extradite the Gupta brothers from Dubai. Open Secrets Director, #HennieVanVuuren, speaks about his doubts on the extradition process.
City Press | Hennie van Vuuren South Africa must be wary of the motive and intentions of the UAE on the Gupta matter, writes Hennie van Vuuren. The arrest and detention of Atul and Rajesh Gupta in Dubai is the first step in what could be an epic battle to bring home two of the…
🛩🛩🛩 Wanted: The State Capture Conspirators. Coming 30 June. Music: Abidoza and Major League DJz-Le Plane E’Landile Video production and editing: Luvo Mnyobe, Open Secrets
eNCA Dubai police effected an Interpol Red Notice issued for charges of money laundering. They say they are working with South African officials to extradite the brothers. eNCA speaks to head investigator at Open Secrets, Michael Marchant.
SABC News There’s been mixed reaction to the arrest of the Gupta Brothers in Dubai. According to a statement by the country’s police the two men were being held in connection with money laundering and criminal charges in South Africa. The police say they were acting after receiving an Interpol red notice which was a…
Newzroom Afrika There are growing concerns around how long it will take to extradite the Gupta brothers after they were arrested in Dubai. Atul and Rajesh Gupta were wanted in connection with the R24.9 million paid by the Free State Department of Agriculture for a feasibility study on potential farming projects in the province. Since…
702. The Clement Manyathela Show Clement is joined by the Legal Journalist, Karyn Maughan and the Director of Open Secrets, Hennie van Vuuren to talk about the arrest of the Gupta brothers in UAE and the extradition process by the Justice Department.
State capture relies on a vast network of actors, many of whom have evaded accountability for their role in derailing state-owned entities. This network includes lawyers who have disregarded their ethical and professional duties in service of corrupt networks. Refiloe Mokoena, an attorney who served as a board member at several state-owned entities (SOEs) and as an acting judge, is one such lawyer implicated in state capture
2 June 2022 | This is the repository of documents cited in the 32nd profile of the Unaccountable series which focusses on the misdeeds of attorney Refiloe Mokoena
Mining company Glencore has pleaded guilty to bribery, corruption and price manipulation. The company will pay about US$ 1.5 billion in fines after it admitted to bribing officials in several countries. It’s reported that among other things, money was paid to avoid government audits and to make lawsuits disappear. Head of Investigations at Open Secrets,…
Daily Maverick| By Michael Marchant and Hennie van Vuuren for Open Secrets 31 May 2022 By pleading guilty to decades of bribery, corruption and price manipulation around the world, Glencore confirmed a poorly kept secret – criminality was a key pillar of the company’s business mode Commodity trading and mining giant Glencore last week admitted…
Digital Profiteers: The digitalisation of the South African welfare state explained Open Secrets TV Who are the digital profiteers lining up at the trough of the South African digital welfare state? Illustrator Brandan Reynolds and Open Secrets’ investigators Abby May and Zen Mathe breakdown the findings of Open Secrets’ investigation, Digital Profiteers: Who Profits Next…
Coming soon on Open Secrets TV… Digital Profiteers Illustrated Date: 20 May 2022 Time: 18:00 (Johannesburg) Where: Open Secrets TV Have you read Open Secrets’ latest investigative report, Digital Profiteers: Who Profits Next from Social Grants? No? Perhaps you’ve planning to get round to it, but life, work and that series you have been bingeing,…
Mudiwa Gavaza speaks to Tabitha Paine, attorney and acting head of legal at Open Secrets, and Thomas Malokotsa from Unpaid Benefits Campaign
Media Statement Civil Society organisations take Financial Sector Regulator to court In December 2021, Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign (UBC), represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), brought an application in the Gauteng High Court against the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). In the spirit of greater transparency and responsiveness to…
On 29 March 2022, Open Secrets and Black Sash together with over 60 activists hosted a workshop on Digital Profiteering at Community House in Cape Town. In this video Open Secrets’ Investigator, Ra’eesa Pather speaks to one of the workshop participants Feziwe Sigqumo about the digitalisation of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant system.
Newsletter: April 2022 By Mamello Mosiana Nothing is mahala! The same holds true for “free” social media platforms like WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook – they have turned us into products. We call these category of corporations – digital profiteers. Do you recall how the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) allowed companies like Net1 and…
What’s at stake in the GovChat vs Meta personal information ‘data war’? Daily Maverick | Abby May and Michael Marchant | 12 April 2022 On 14 March, the Competition Commission of South Africa upheld a complaint by South African tech company GovChat against Meta Platforms Inc and its subsidiaries WhatsApp and Facebook. The commission referred the tech giant…
Unaccountable 00031: The National Postponement Authority on High Profile Corruption by Ra’eesa Pather for Open Secrets 4 April 2021 Questionable decision-making, poor leadership and political interference have collapsed public trust in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The current leadership at the authority, lead by Shamila Batohi, has yet to bring about change to address the…
Newsroom Afrika | 15 March 2022 Head of Investigations at Open Secrets, Michael Marchant, speaks to Newzroom Afrika on prosecutions for state capture crimes, and issues in the NPA, Hawks, and the courts. Justice Raymond Zondo releases the third volume of the State Capture report which recommends more than 60 individuals for prosecution. To discuss how…
eNCA Interview with Open Secrets’ Michael Marchant on the Yemen conflict
The High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division: Pretoria has requested the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) to end delays in the review application relating to permits enabling weapons exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
SABC The Watchdog: Interview with Michael Marchant Michael Marchant, Head of Investigations at Open Secrets, speaks to the WatchDog following the public release of Part Two of the State Capture Report.
Monday 24 January 2022 || Civil Society Working Group on State Capture: Statement – Response to the Zondo Commission’s Report We urge the commission not to shy away from making robust recommendations that can act as catalyst for wholesale state reform and will help to ensure that powerful corporations and individuals that have enabled state…
Inside the reign of Bain Financial Mail | Zen Mathe, Investigator at Open Secrets | 13 JANUARY 2022 The consulting firm was present for every step of the dismantling of Sars, from conception, to collusion, to capture. The first report from the Zondo commission into state capture, released on January 4, shines a light on…
Findings against The New Age in the State Capture report The Clement Manyathela Show on 702 | Interview with Ra’eesa Pather, Investigator at Open Secrets | 12 January 2022 Clement speaks to Open Secrets’ investigator, Ra’eesa Pather, as well as Pieter Pretorius from Eskom and former GCIS DG Themba Maseko, as resistors of state capture…
Open Secrets’ Michael Marchant reacts to the first part of the State Capture report, and the findings against PwC and Nkonki’s work at SAA.
Mediated Conversation: Reflection on the State Capture Report SAfm Sunrise | Guests include: Pauli van Wyk, Daily Maverick; Hennie van Vuuren, Open Secrets; and Mzwandile Mbeje, SABC News | 10 January 2022 Stephen Grootes of SAfm Sunrise speaks with Pauli van Wyk (Journalist at Daily Maverick); Hennie van Vuuren (Executive Director of Open Secrets), and…
Zondo: South African Airways, PwC can drag heels no longer The Africa Report | David Whitehouse| 10 January 2022 Publication of the first part of the Zondo Report on state capture has finally prompted South African Airways (SAA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to start facing reality. The first part of the report by…
Thought Leadership: State Capture Report under the spotlight Power 98.7 | In conversation with Mamello Mosiana, Head of Campaigns at Open Secrets | 9 January 2022 Stand-in host Nhlanhla Sehume is in conversation with the head of campaigns, Mamello Mosiana, at non-governmental organisation Open Secrets – which is vocal on accountability for private sector economic…
Pros and cons of Deferred Prosecution Agreements recommended in the State Capture Report Newzroom Afrika | In conversation with Tabitha Paine, Senior Attorney at Open Secrets | 8 January 2022 The state capture commission’s first report was released this week. It includes a recommendation to use deferred prosecution agreements for companies implicated in State Capture.…
Analysing the State Capture Report: Objections to proposed deferred prosecution agreements Radio 786 | In conversation with Michael Marchant, Head of Research at Open Secrets | 7 January 2022 Red flags have been raised about the State Capture Commission’s recommendation that government introduce laws to allow for deferred prosecutions of corporations accused of crimes like…
Discussion | State Capture report hits and misses eNCA | In conversation with Michael Marchant, Head of Investigations at Open Secrets | 7 January 2022 Michael Marchant from Open Secrets spoke to eNCA’s Annika Larsen.
Discussion on State Capture Commission Report and insights on the findings: Ra’eesa Pather, Investigator at Open Secrets SABC News | In conversation with Ra’eesa Pather, Investigator at Open Secrets | 7 January 2022 Civil society organization Open Secrets last night hosted a virtual conversation to discuss the State Capture Commission report and its insights on…
Michael Marchant, Head of Investigations at Open Secrets, on the hits and misses in the state capture report SABC: On Point | In conversation with Michael Marchant, Head of Research at Open Secrets | 7 January 2022 Many stakeholders continue to pore over the contents of the first part of the State Capture report, which…
The pros and cons of deferred prosecution agreements: Is it a case of justice deferred is justice denied? Daily Maverick| Tabitha Paine and Ra’eesa Pather | 6 January 2022 The first of three reports by the Zondo Commission has proposed using deferred prosecution agreements as a tool to hold companies accountable for wrongdoing in State Capture.…
Ramaphosa’s primary responsibility is to the country, not his political party: Open Secrets SAfm: Update at Noon | In conversation with Hennie van Vuuren, Executive Director at Open Secrets | 5 Januray 2022 The Democratic Alliance has called on law enforcement agencies to immediately act following the release of the first of the three-part State…
Business with Khaya Sithole: Reflections on the State Capture Report – Part 1 Power 98.7 | In conversation with Michael Marchant, Head of Research at Open Secrets | 5 January 2022 Reflections on the State Capture Report with Michael Marchant, Head of Research at Open Secrets.
Suspend Bain & Co, urges Lord Hain in a letter to UK government Daily Maverick | Sasha Planting | 5 January 2022 Suspend Bain & Co, urges Lord Hain in a letter to UK government Management consultancy Bain & Co hoped it had put the sins of State Capture years behind it. But the release of the…
Power Business with Khaya Sithole: Reflections on the State Capture Report – Part 1 5 January 2022 Power Business with Khaya Sithole Khaya Sithole reflects on Part 1 of the State Capture Report with Steven Powell from ENS, Pauli van Wyk from the Daily Maverick and Open Secrets’ Head of Investigations, Michael Marchant.
Ramaphosa’s primary responsibility is to the country, not his political party: Open Secrets 5 January 2022 Update at Noon The Democratic Alliance has called on law enforcement agencies to immediately act following the release of the first of the three-part State Capture report. The DA says now the information is available, recommendations from the report…
5 January 2022 Lester Kiewit talks to Open Secrets’ Ra’eesa Pather
Open Secrets investigation raises red flags around the digitalization of grants process CapeTalk: Breakfast with Refilwe Moloto | 29 November 2021 Abby May, an investigations Intern at Open Secrets, speaks to John Maytham about an investigation which highlights the threats to privacy and vulnerable individuals when private companies co-create the digital infrastructure used by the…
Examining the NPA’s delay in prosecuting high-profile cases SABC Morning Live | In conversation with Hennie Van Vuuren, Executive Director of Open Secrets | 7 December 2021 National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Advocate Shamila Batohi says the NPA is not in a crisis and there is no widespread sabotage of the Investigative Directorate (ID) or…
Ciaran Ryan | Moneyweb| 7 December 2021 Who would have thought the Covid-19 pandemic would present a potential gold mine for companies specialising in the harvesting and selling of data? Apple’s market cap, now $2.6 trillion, is up 136% since the onset of Covid. If it were a country, Apple would be the eighth largest…
CPS Social Grants Management Still a Secret | Interview with Michael Marchant, Head of Investigations Radio 786 | 6 December 2021
Open Secrets investigation raises red flags around the digitalization of grants process CapeTalk: Breakfast with Refilwe Moloto | 29 November 2021 Abby May, an Investigations Intern at Open Secrets, speaks to John Maytham about an investigation which highlights the threats to privacy and vulnerable individuals when private companies co-create the digital infrastructure used by the…
Open Secrets investigation raises red flags around the digitalization of grants process CapeTalk: Breakfast with Refilwe Moloto | 29 November 2021 Abby May, an Investigations Intern at Open Secrets, speaks to John Maytham about an investigation which highlights the threats to privacy and vulnerable individuals when private companies co-create the digital infrastructure used by the…
Open Secrets investigation raises red flags around the digitalization of grants process CapeTalk: Breakfast with Refilwe Moloto | 29 November 2022 Abby May, an Investigations Intern at Open Secrets, speaks to John Maytham about an investigation that highlights the threats to privacy and vulnerable individuals when private companies co-create the digital infrastructure used by the…
Newzroom Afrika | 27 November 2021 After President Cyril Ramaphosa introduced social assistance measures to soften the battering from COVID-19, unemployed adults aged 18 to 59 were brought into the social security net for the first time. These new grant beneficiaries were not registered with the SA Social Security Agency, so private partners such as…
Just what is the ‘new Net1’? Financial Mail | Rob Rose | 25 November 2021 Fintech firm Net1 is still trying to shake the image of a company fleecing social grant recipients. But winning back legitimacy isn’t that easy. “Rehabilitation is a journey. There’s been a lot of hurt and a lot of mistrust,” says…
With a new Covid grant, and demand for a basic income grant spiking, companies such as GovChat are getting in on the action. Is SA risking another Net1 debacle?
The investigative report, Digital Profiteers: Who Profits Next from Social Grants, focuses on how the digitalisation of state services offers opportunities for corporations to generate excessive profits from digital systems that can harm vulnerable people.
Financial Mail | 22 November 2021 The FM and Open Secrets on November 25 hosted an online discussion on the dangers of the ‘digital welfare state’ In April 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa introduced a raft of social assistance measures to provide relief to struggling South Africans as the economy took a battering from Covid. Among…
The following is a recap of the work we’ve done on the Apartheid banks. Otherwise known as Belgium’s Kredietbank (now known as KBC Group) and its sister bank in Luxembourg (then known as KBL, but changed its name to Quintet Private Bank in 2020 shortly after Open Secrets handed over its docket to the NPA).…
This report reflects the energy and commitment of the Open Secrets team to investigating the powerful and using the law to hold them to account.
Who are the board members and executives at Prasa who enabled and participated in the looting of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa)? This week we turn to Sfiso Buthelezi, a former deputy minister of Finance and current member of parliament whose six years as Prasa’s first board chairperson saw the parastatal procurement process systematically undermined and its coffers drained.
This is the repository of documents cited in the 30th profile of the Unaccountable series which focusses on the role of current member of parliament and former board chair of Prasa, Sfiso Buthelezi.
Cape Talk | 8 September 2021 Transnet and the Special Investigating Unit were on Tuesday granted a preservation order to freeze R4.2billion sitting in bank accounts linked to Chinese company, CRRC E-Loco Supply (CRRC). They supplied Transnet with locomotives between 2011 and 2014. Michael Marchant of Open Secrets speaks to Refilwe Moloto about the significance of the move.
SABC News | 7 September 2021 Open Secret’s investigator Michael Marchant speaks to Vuyo Mvoko about corruption and the private sector.
The Citizen | Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni| 7 September 2021 If National Commissioner of Correctional Services, Arthur Fraser did not solicit an independent medical report on former President Zuma, his medical parole decision is illegal. So says the Democratic Alliance (DA) as well as legal experts who have raised red flags in the former statesman’s successful bid…
Unaccountable 00029 | Roy Moodley- Mr Prasa? By Lucas Nowicki Who are the shady corporate bosses who derailed Prasa? In this instalment of Unaccountable, we shine a light on Roy Moodley, a politically connected businessman whom employees at the state-owned railway company would call ‘Mr Prasa’, according to testimony at the Zondo Commission. For more…
SaferWorld Domestic accountability for international arms transfers: Law, policy and practice 31 August 2021 | Open Secrets and SALC’s legal case to have the Gauteng High Court review the export of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE has been included in Saferworld’s latest publication, Domestic accountability for international arms transfers: Law, policy and practice.…
Unaccountable Special: The Auditors 16 August 2021 | Mamello Mosiana The ‘Big Four’ audit firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – all play a systemic role in economic crimes and State Capture. The evidence suggests that these firms have prioritised profit over professional duties and the law. Accountability and reform of the industry are…
This profile is on PwC and Nkonki, the auditors that repeatedly gave SAA a clean bill of health while fraud and corruption soared.
26 July 2021 | This is the repository of documents cited in the 28th profile of the Unaccountable series which focusses on the role of PwC and Nkonki as auditors of the national air carrier, SAA.
The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture again reiterates that law enforcement agencies should focus its attention on the individuals and corporations who have either allegedly been complicit in state capture or might have information that can assist the state in challenging the state capture networks.
Daily Maverick | Zukiswa Pikoli | 21 July 2021 Swift and decisive action must be taken to remove and hold to account compromised individuals who remain within key state institutions, say civil society organisations. The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture has called for the accountability of criminals fingered in the State Capture Commission…
ENCA | 20 July 2021 Open Secrets director Hennie Van Vuuren spoke with eTV’s Annika Larsen.
Daily Maverick | Zita Hansungule, Daniel McLaren, Tabitha Paine, Samantha Waterhouse | 19 July 2021 Budget Justice Coalition members are deeply disturbed by the unrest that unfolded across the country over the past few weeks. The violence and destruction are devastating at a time when many in South Africa already face hunger and poverty, made…
This profile is on PwC and Nkonki, the auditors that repeatedly gave SAA a clean bill of health while fraud and corruption soared.
Sunday Times | Franny Rabkiin | 4 July 2021 Retired judges Willie Seriti and Hendrick Musi have challenged the constitutionality of the Judicial Service Commission Act, saying it is unconstitutional in that it allows judicial misconduct complaints against retired judges. “We are aggrieved that we have to be put through a complaint process when we…
News 24 | Jeanette Chabalala | 2 July 2021 Two retired judges, who presided over the Arms Deal Inquiry, have approached the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to challenge the constitutionality of the Judicial Service Commission Act. Judges Willie Seriti and Hendrick Musi face an investigation for “incapacity, gross incompetence or gross misconduct”. Seriti was…
ENCA | 17 June 2021 South Africa’s sale of weapons to countries actively involved in the war in Yemen could soon come to an end. For more, Annika Larsen speaks to Head of Investigation’s at Open Secrets Michael Marchant. Courtesy #DStv403
Daily Maverick | Abby May| 24 June 2021 With the move of government departments to digitisation, private companies creating the digital infrastructure will have access to millions of South Africans’ data. Many will undoubtedly seek to monetise that access. Abby May is an intern at Open Secrets. In late 2020 South African credit bureau agency Experian…
This is the repository for all the documents cited in the PRASA-related Unaccountable profiles and 3-part PRASA series with GroundUp. Corruption has a direct impact on the lives of people in South Africa. The link between corruption and lived experience is nowhere more obvious than the erosion of passenger train services in South Africa. The…
Unaccountable 00026: Vossloh- The German railway giant that derailed Prasa By Lucas Nowicki In installment 00024 of Unaccountable we focused on middleman Auswell Mashaba and his shelf company Swifambo Rail Leasing, which was used as a front by Vossloh España to secure a lucrative contract with Prasa that resulted in the SOE spending billions on…
James De Villiers | News24 | 9 June 2021 The transparency non-profit organisation, Open Secrets, and the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) last week launched an urgent Gauteng High Court application in Pretoria to review the sale of weapons made in South Africa to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Saudi Arabia and…
Cape Talk | 17 June 2021 Refilwe speaks to Atilla Kisla International criminal justice lawyer at Southern Africa Litigation Centre.
Cape Talk | 17 June 2021 The Gauteng High Court has ruled that the names of companies and entities exporting arms and weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, must now be made known, as these weapons are being used to carry out human atrocities in Yemen.The case was brought by the trustees of the…
Franny Rabkin | Sunday Times | 15 June 2021 Court orders National Conventional Arms Control Committee to provide a list A court on Tuesday ordered the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) to provide a list of South African arms companies that have permits to export arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — the…
Karyn Maughan | News 24 | 15 June 2021 Open Secrets and the Southern African Litigation Centre have won a significant first victory in their legal campaign to block arms dealers in South Africa from selling weapons allegedly used against civilians in war-torn Yemen. The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday afternoon granted an…
SALC and Open Secrets, will be in the Pretoria high court on Tuesday afternoon over the government-issued permits that allow SA arms companies to export weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Atilla Kisla | Mail & Gaurdian | 7 June 2021 Following illegal and unethical arms trades to countries with very poor human rights records under apartheid, democratic South Africa established a legal framework so that the mistakes of the past would not repeat themselves. But 26 years later, the plan to implement a system that…
IOL | Loyiso Sidimba | 13 June 2021 Johannesburg – The government may be aiding and assisting the commission of an internationally wrongful act by selling millions of weapons worth billions of rands to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) and Open Secrets have accused President Cyril…
The Citizen | Cheryl Kahla | 11 June 2021 The treaty could see fugitive Gupta brothers returning as early as next month. Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola clarified the extradition treaty and mutual agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday. UAE treaty: What you need to know Lack of cooperation from…
10 June 2021 | Radio 786 – 100.4 FM | Non-profit organisation Open Secrets, and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) has launched an urgent application in the North Gauteng High, seeking the names of all permit holders authorised to export arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Since 2017, Saudi Arabia stands accused of…
9 June 2021 | SAFM SUNRISE Guest: Makgala Masiteng – SABC Reporter Guest: Hennie Van Vuuren – Director Of Open Secrets
In this episode Open Secrets Zen Mathe and Mamello Mosiana talk about the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the role of South Africa in supplying arms to parties to the conflict, namely Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Human Rights organisations ask the Courts to review decisions to export arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
6 June 2021 | Newzroom Afrika The National Prosecuting Authority has a witness protection programme, where people can even assume a new identity if the situation warrants it. But what about whistleblowers? Are we doing enough to protect them and encourage more people to come forward with allegations of wrongdoing? Joining us is former Government…
Cape Talk | 6 June 2021 Mamello Mosiana – Head of communications and collaboration at Open Secrets speaks to Refilwe Moloto about consultancy firm McKinsey that made millions off their questionable deal with Transnet and Eskom. They have now undertaken to pay back R870million, that they received from Transnet since their contract started in 2005.
City Press | Thamsanqa Malinga | 30 May 2021 The recent financial woes of the governing party in failing to meet its obligations towards staff salaries is an issue whose surface has merely been scratched. Much needs to be interrogated, but the sight of a once-glorious movement becoming cash-strapped does not require us to lift…
ENCA | 27 May 2021 Michael Marchant, a researcher at Open Secrets, spoke with eNCA’s Morena Mothupi.
Newzroom Afrika | 26 May 2021 Newzroom Afrika’s Thabo Mdluli is joined by legal journalist at News24 Karyn Maughan, and Arms Deal whistleblower and Open Secrets Director, Hennie van Vuuren to help unpack the Zuma and Thales case.
Unaccountable 00025: The Russian Bank that took Mozambique for a ride By Mamello Mosiana The people of Mozambique have been battered in recent times by devastating cyclones and an increasingly virulent armed insurgency in the North of the country. The backdrop is a country battling state capture. This involves a coterie of corrupt politicians, multinational…
18 May 2021 | Hensoldt, like Rheinmetall, has extensive operations in South Africa. A call on the German government to ensure that German parent companies comply with the country’s ban on the export of arms to Saudi Arabia at all offshore locations. At Hensoldt AG’s Annual General Meeting this year, the civil society organisations Urgewald…
19 May 2021 | This is the repository of the sources cited in the 25th instalment of Unaccountable, VTB Capital- The Russian Bank that took Mozambique for a ride.
IOL | Loyiso Sidimba | 15 May 2021 JOHANNESBURG – WHISTLEBLOWERS and campaigners against the multibillion-rand arms deal have not given up on justice for taxpayers after the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) confirmed it was investigating complaints against two judges who probed the transaction. Whistleblower Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille wants the…
13 May 2021| Court application by Open Secrets & UBC, represented by CALS, to challenge the appointment process of the Commissioners of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. Hosts: Mamello Mosiana, Michael Marchant, Zen Mathe Music: Mello C- Pasikolu (licensed through Creative Commons) Open Secrets Radio is powered by Hindenburg Systems
The Citizen | Bernadette Wicks | 13 May 2021 Tito Mboweni contends that appointments to statutory or public institutions do not always have to follow a public process. Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign is set to square off against Finance Minister Tito Mboweni in the High Court in Pretoria today, over how the…
13 May 2021 Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign (UBC), represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), have approached the Gauteng High Court to set aside portions of the regulations that were made in terms of section 61(4) of the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017 (“the regulations”), relating to the…
Marianne Tham | Daily Maverick | 12 May 2021 In the aftermath of a North Gauteng High Court finding, judges Willie Seriti and Hendrick Musi will now have to explain why the Arms Procurement Commission overlooked crucial information prior to making findings in 2016 that the arms deal was clean as a whistle. On 7…
Newsroom Afrika | 12 May 2021 In 2011, Judge Willie Seriti, a Supreme Court of Appeal judge, and Judge Hendrick Musi, former Judge President of the Free State High Court, were appointed to chair the Arms Procurement Commission, known as the Seriti Commission. The commission probed allegations of fraud, corruption, impropriety or irregularity in the…
11 May 2021 | Karyn Maughan | News 24 The judges who preside over R150 Million Arms Deal Inquiry, which found no evidence of corruption in the multibillion-rand deal, are now facing and investigation for “incapacity, gross incompetence or gross misconduct”. Judicial Service Commission (JSC) secretary Sello Chiloane has confirmed that the JSC’s conduct committee…
11 May 2021 | In a letter to the Shadow World Investigations and Open Secrets, dated 07 May 2021, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo (as acting chair of the Judicial Conduct Committee) has affirmed the seriousness of the organisations complaint to the Judicial Service Commission. His letters confirms that the matter has now been referred…
11 May 2021 | Media Statement | Shadow World Investigations and Open Secrets | On 11 August 2020, non-profit organisations Shadow World Investigations and Open Secrets submitted a complaint to the Chairperson of the Judicial Conduct Committee (of the Judicial Service Commission). The detailed complaint focused on the High Court’s damning judgment which finds that…
Newsroom Afrika | 11 May 2021 Paul Holden, Director of Shadow World Investigations speaks about the Seriti commission of inquiry into the arms deal.
In April 2021, after a 8-year battle, the SARB finally released the records of Jan Blaauw and Vito Palazzolo to Open Secrets. This is the result of a precedent-setting legal action that ensured the right of all South Africans to access information in the public interest.
SABC News | 4 May 2021 Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations have written to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) demanding a response about a complaint they filed in August 2020 asking the JSC to look into the conduct of Judge Willie Seriti and Judge Hendrick Musi regarding the Arms Deal Inquiry. The two organizations…
The New Arab | Suraya Dadoo | 3 May 2021 As the country stood on the brink of democracy in November 1993, Nelson Mandela proudly promised that in the new South Africa human rights would be the “light that guides our foreign affairs.” However, decades later, South African-made weaponry has been deeply involved in the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.…
23 April 2021 On the 11th of August 2020, Shadow World Investigations (“SWI”) and Open Secrets submitted a complaint to the Chairperson of the Judicial Conduct Committee (of the Judicial Service Commission) in terms of Section 14 of the Judicial Services Act 9 of 1994, regarding the conduct of Judge Willie Seriti and Judge Hendrick…
Cape Talk | Barbara Friedman | 29 April 2021 Hennie Van Vuuren, the CEO of Open Secrets speaks to Refilwe Moloto about the appearance of the ruling party president, Cyril Ramaphosa at the Zondo Commission.
Unaccountable 00024: Auswell ‘tall trains’ Mashaba: The middleman who derailed Prasa By Lucas Nowicki Who are the shady middlemen who derailed Prasa? We turn our attention to Auswell ‘tall trains’ Mashaba, whose business Swifambo Rail Leasing is one of the locomotives of corruption at Prasa. In last week’s instalment of Unaccountable, we discussed the politicians, board members…
In April 2021, after a 8-year battle, the SARB finally released the records of Jan Blaauw and Vito Palazzolo to Open Secrets. This is the result of a precedent-setting legal action that ensured the right of all South Africans to access information in the public interest.
Aljazeera | Michael Marchant & Zen Mathe | 19 April 2021 The South African state has abandoned its commitment to human rights to profit from weapons deals. In so doing, it has become complicit in war crimes in Yemen. Democratic South Africa’s commitment to human rights has never been solely inward-looking. Its constitutional order was…
Unaccountable 00023: How Prasa was looted and left for scrap By Lucas Nowicki The link between corruption and lived experience is nowhere more obvious than the erosion of passenger train services in South Africa. Prasa’s service has declined so dramatically over the past decade that the majority of working-class South Africans who once relied on…
Open Secrets correspondence with Tongaat Hulett regarding audit failure and fraud revealed in Tongaat’s 2018/2019 Annual Report.
Unaccountable 00022: The Chinese Railway Rolling Stock Corporation: China Inc boards the State Capture train By Hlohi Ndlovu Where is the Transnet loot and why hasn’t it been recovered? Given the government’s recently announced austerity measures targeting social spending, this question demands an urgent answer. Why have institutions such as Transnet thus far largely failed…
This is the repository for all the documents cited in the 22nd profile of the Unaccountable series: CRRC- China Inc boards the state capture train Where is the Transnet loot and why hasn’t it been recovered? Given the governments recently announced austerity measures targeting social spending this question demands an urgent answer. Why have institutions…
Defenceweb | 25 March 2021 | Smoke is rising from another apparent fire demanding the attention of Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, this time involving Denel associate company Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM). He has been asked for details of South Africa’s alleged involvement in the ongoing Yemen humanitarian crisis by Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentarian Michele…
Sunday Times Live |Suraya Dadoo | 21 March 2021 | As the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) continues to approve weapons sales to countries engaged in war crimes in Yemen, SA’s arms industry bears a shocking similarity to its apartheid-era past. A new investigation by South African civil society group Open Secrets has laid…
Open Guv Hub | 19 March 2021 | The new Biden administration represents an opportunity for governance and anti-corruption reform in the United States, both to undo the damage done under the Trump era and to build our systems back better and with more resilience. To make the most of this opportunity, we can learn…
Salaamedia | 19 March 2021 Is South Africa putting profits before #Yemeni lives in Yemen’s civil war? Zen Mathe, Researcher at Open Secrets, takes a closer look. #IftarDrive #Ramadan
Power Talk | 19 March | In this next segment, we look at a piece co-written by Zen Mathe which reports that South Africa has abandoned its commitment to human rights in exchange for the chance to profit from weapon deals. This in turn has made us complicit in war crimes in Yemen. Lukhona Mnguni…
Newzroom Afrika | 10 March 2021 Civil society groups in South Africa have published a joint statement in support of the State Capture Inquiry chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. The organisations, say they are against attacks on the judiciary by politicians who do not produce evidence to back their claims. Naushina Rahim has…
Radio Islam International | 10 March 2021 | Civil Society organisation Open Secrets says with just a few months left before the Zondo Commission concludes and reports on its findings, there needs to be support for the inquiry into state capture. Some of South Africa’s foremost civil society organisations have come out strongly in support…
Daily Maverick and Open Secrets | 3 March 2021 | It may seem to many people in South Africa that what is happening in war-torn Yemen is a tragedy unfolding far away without any direct connection to us, and with little we can do. This is not true. This report reveals that, since the war…
Civil Society Working Group on State Capture | Maverick Citizen | Some of South Africa’s foremost civil society organisations have come out strongly in support of the State Capture Commission and have insisted that former president Jacob Zuma abide by the law. The 13 civil society organisations released a joint statement overnight stating that the…
Power FM | 8 March 2021 | Khaya Sithole is in conversation with journalist Karyn Maughan, author James-Brent Styan, director of Open Secrets Hennie Van Vuuren about the Steinhoff saga.
Newzroom Afrika | 7 March 2021 | An explosive report by Open Secrets has revealed that when civil war broke out in Yemen in early 2015, South African arms companies exported weapons to Saudi Arabi and the UAE worth billions of rands. Newzroom Afrika speaks to Open Secrets researcher, Zen Mathe and human rights lawyer,…
etv | 4 March 2021 | An investigation has lifted the lid on South Africa’s possible involvement, in gross human rights violations in Yemen. Details are contained in a new report called “Profiting from Misery”, put together by the NPO, Open Secrets. It has reportedly found that state-owned arms manufacturer, Denel and others, sold weapons…
Breakfast with Refilwe Moloto | Cape Talk | 5 March 2021 Michael Marchant of Open Secrets talks to Refilwe Moloto about an investigation that shows South African arms companies are selling weapons to those waging war on Yemenis for nearly a decade.
SABC News | 5 March 2021| A new Open Secrets investigative report, Profiting from Misery: South Africa’s Complicity in War Crimes in Yemen reveals the South African arms companies that have cashed in on the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates two central parties to the Yemeni conflict. For more,…
Salaamedia | 4 March 2021| Salaamedia’s Inayet Wadee speaks to Open Secrets’ researcher Michael Marchant about the role of South African and German arms corporations in the Yemen war. Read Profiting from Misery: South Africa’s Complicity in War Crimes in Yemen
New Open Secrets report says South Africans should demand an end to the flow of weapons to this tragedy.
The Voice of the Cape | 3 March 2021 | Since the outbreak six years ago of regionalised war in Yemen that has resulted in humanitarian crisis, South African arms companies have profited from the sale of weapons to parties central to the conflict.This is according to investigations by NPO Open Secrets.Online for comment is…
Weapons produced in South Africa are awash in Yemen and being used by numerous parties in that war, says a report by Open Secrets.
On the 3rd of March 2021, Open Secrets will be launching a new investigative report containing devastating findings about private sector profiteering. To receive news of the live launch and the report, sign up to our mailing list here
Newzroom Afrika | 23 February 2021| Pre-trial proceedings for the Arms Deal corruption trial are expected to be heard in the KwaZulu-Natal high court in Pietermaritzburg today. A trial date is likely to be set for one of South Africa’s longest-running legal cases. Former president Jacob Zuma and co accused, French arms manufacturer Thales face…
Unaccountable 00021: Bain and Company- The KGB of Consulting By Zen Mathe Bain & Company is one of several powerful multinational corporations at the centre of corruption and State Capture in South Africa. Bain enabled the wrecking of the South African Revenue Service, contributing to economic hardship for all South Africans. Placing profit over principle,…
Daily Maverick | Sasha Planting | 16 February 2021 | With SA’s Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba) in a full-blown governance crisis and the Auditing Profession Amendment Bill still wending its way through Parliament, two of the firms involved in SA’s gigantic accounting scandals are attempting to make right for past failings. On Monday,…
This is the repository for all the documents cited in the 21st profile of the Unaccountable series: Bain & Co.- The ‘KGB of consulting’ Bain and Company (Bain) is one of several powerful multinational corporations at the centre of corruption and state capture in South Africa. Bain enabled the wrecking of the South African Revenue…
Mozambique has been battered by devastating cyclones and an armed insurgency. The backdrop to this is a state battling State Capture. This involves a coterie of corrupt politicians. However, at the centre of one of Africa’s biggest corruption scandals is a Swiss banking behemoth – Credit Suisse.
This is the repository for some of the documents cited in Unaccountable 20: Credit Suisse, Unaccountable 25: VTB Capital and Unaccountable 27: EY. These installments of the Unaccountable series focus on the role of private-sector enablers of the secret tuna-bond loans that caused Mozabique’s economy to spiral in 2016. A crisis the country is still…
Mark Heywood | Daily Maverick | 2 February 2021 The latest scandal concerning the Gauteng Education Department’s R431-million expenditure on ‘deep-cleaning and decontaminating’ schools is symptomatic of a deeper problem: we live in a land of hopeless impunity for maladministration and corruption. It was the year Covid-19 upended our lives. But 2020 was also characterised by…
Daily Maverick | Ruan Jooste | 25 January 2021 | The Big Four auditing firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – played a systemic role in financial crimes across the globe and evidence suggests that these firms have prioritised profit over professional duties and the law. Accountability reforms are around the corner, but will…
Power FM | 19 January 2021 | In this conversation Thabiso Kotane is joined by Hennie van Vuuren, Director at Open Secrets and Lebohang Pheko, the Executive Director at the Trade Colleactive and talk about corporate capture, explore its effects of and look at this stifles the building and functioning of a capable state in…
SAFM Sunrise | 18 January 2021 | Guest: Karam Singh- Corruption Watch Head of legal and investigations. Guest: Professor Peter Goss – Corporate Governance Advisor Guest: Hennie van Vuuren – Director Open Secrets
Business Live| Natasha Marrian|14 January 2021 | Civil society bodies push for corporations implicated in state capture to be more thoroughly grilled by Zondo. Are private corporations being treated with kid gloves by the commission of inquiry into state capture? Sections of civil society say the impression is being created that the commission, chaired by…
Daily Maverick | Michael Marchant |15 December 2020 | The Zondo Commission has a vital role to play in advancing the public’s understanding of private corporations’ role in State Capture. It is the commission’s duty and well within its powers to compel banking executives, lawyers, consultants and auditors to appear before it and answer questions…
Newzroom Afrika | 16 December 2020 | More than 20 civil society organisations have written an open letter to Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, highlighting a list of witnesses they believe should be prioritised during the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. They say the commission should use its full power to compel them to…
Babelegi loses Appeal in the Competition Appeal Court in a matter involving the excessive pricing of face masks during Covid- 19 The Health Justice Initiative (hji) and Open Secrets welcome the news from the Competition Appeal Court (CAC), in a judgement dated 18 November 2020, that the appeal by BABELEGI WORKWEAR AND INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES CC…
Unaccountable 00019: IRBA- Soft Touch Regulator in Turmoil By Michael Marchant It has often appeared that the desire of the regulatory board for auditors to protect its members overshadows its responsibility to inform the public about dodgy auditors The “Big Four” audit firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – are regularly implicated in audit…
Tumisang Ndlovu speaks to Michael Marchant, researcher – Investigations and Advocacy – Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign about the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) commissioner appointments process.
3 November| YouTube | Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign (UBC), represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) have applied to the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) on an urgent basis to ensure a transparent process to select the new Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).…
27 October 2020 | Newzroom Afrika | Civil Society organizations Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign, have applied to the High Court on an urgent basis to call for a transparent process in the selection of a new Commissioner of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign (UBC) apply to court to prevent the appointments process for the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) from proceeding in secret. 27 October 2020 Today, after 18 months of failing to get a response from the Minister of Finance, civil society organisations Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign,…
25 October 2020| Daily Maverick | Zukiswa Pikoli | More than 20 civil society organisations have written an open letter to Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo highlighting a list of witnesses they believe should be prioritised during the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, saying that the commission should use its full power to compel…
8 October 2020 | Biz News | In this BizNews noon webinar (Thursday 8 October), veteran broadcaster Tim Modise is joined by Public Service Commissioner Michael Seloane and Mamello Mosiana of Open Secrets to discuss efforts to promote professional ethics in the face of collusive networks of corruption within the public sector.
1 October 2020 | Daily Maverick | Mamello Mosiana and Michael Marchant | Banks are an essential cog in a global money-laundering architecture that enables the corrupt and criminal to disguise and hide the proceeds of their crimes. New revelations from the US reveal the depths of the problem of banks laundering money and the…
Breakfast with Refilwe Moloto | 17 September 2020 | Let’s not forget that state capture is so much bigger and Zuma and that this corruption doesn’t exist in a vacuum – the private sector has been there every step of the way. Michael Marchant from Open Secrets in conversation with Refilwe.
The ‘Big Four’ audit firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – all play a systemic role in economic crimes and state capture. The evidence suggests that these firms have prioritised profit over professional duties and the law. Accountability and reform of the industry is thus essential. In July, Open Secrets released the latest Corporations…
Unaccountabe 00018: KPMG – At the heart of state capture By Mamello Mosiana The Big Four auditing firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – played a systemic role in economic crimes and State Capture. The evidence suggests that these firms have prioritised profit over professional duties and the law. Accountability and reform of the…
World Peace Foundation, 8 September 2020. The podcast series “African Voices, African Arguments” features African scholars, writers, policy makers and activists on issues of peace, justice and democracy, and is produced by World Peace Foundation and presented in partnership with African Arguments and The Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University. Alex de Waal discusses…
Justice for apartheid economic crime: Start with the bankers Today many civil society organisations jointly call on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to crack down on corporations who assisted the apartheid state and profited from economic crimes under apartheid. To date they have escaped any accountability for their crimes in supporting and sustaining apartheid –…
Michael Marchant | Business Live | 27 August 2020 | Nearly three years after Steinhoff’s finances were exposed as a sham and the company lost nearly all its value overnight, it is offering shareholders and former partners a settlement agreement. Facing legal claims for over R130bn, Steinhoff’s management is proposing a R16bn settlement, payable in…
Unaccountable 00017: EY – incompetent, negligent or criminal? By Michael Marchant The ‘Big Four’ audit firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – all play a systemic role in economic crimes and State Capture. The evidence suggests that these firms have prioritised profit over professional duties and the law. Accountability and reform of the industry…
Below are the documents cited in Unaccountable 00017: EY- Incompetent, Negligent or Just Criminal? This is the second of four Unaccountable profiles that focus on the ‘Big Four’ audit firms- Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC. All these firms play a systemic role in economic crimes and state capture. In July, Open Secrets released the report, The…
Open Secrets & Shadow World Investigations | Daily Maverick | 20 August 2020 | Our complaint has been submitted in line with the Judicial Services Act which allows for complaints to be filed where judges are guilty of either ‘gross misconduct’ or ‘gross incompetence’, among other things. We have submitted a complaint to the Chief…
Media Release | 19 August 2020 |hji and Open Secrets Health Justice Initiative (hji) and Open Secrets admitted as joint amici (friends of the court) in Competition Appeal Court – involving Dis-Chem & the Competition Commission (pricing of face masks for COVID-19) On 11 August 2020, the Health Justice Initiative (hji) and Open Secrets…
Paul Holden | Daily Maverick | 18 August 2020 | The crisis of State Capture and the epidemic of corruption that undermines Covid-19 relief and mitigation efforts, find their roots in the wholesale destruction of the capacity of the state to tackle corruption lest those capacities uncover the full rot of the Arms Deal. South…
CFO Talks Podcast | 17 August 2020 | A recent report released by Open Secrets provides fascinating insight to financial crimes in South Africa’s private and public sector. Open Secrets’ researcher Michael Marchant speaks to CFO Talks.
Below are the documents cited in Unaccountable 00016: Deloot. This is the first of four Unaccountable profiles that focus on the ‘Big Four’ audit firms- Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC. All these firms play a systemic role in economic crimes and state capture. In July, Open Secrets released the report, The Corporations and Economic Crime Report…
Unaccountable 00016: Deloot – How Deloitte gets away with it By Michael Marchant The ‘Big Four’ audit firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – all play a systemic role in economic crimes and State Capture. The evidence suggests that these firms have prioritised profit over professional duties and the law. Accountability and reform of…
Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations submit complaint to the Judicial Conduct Committee of the JSC.
Open Secrets researcher Michael Marchant speaks to Cape Talk’s Lester Kiewit
Below are the documents cited in Unaccountable 00015: The BAE Systems Corruption Bombshell. This is the final chapter in Open Secrets’ three-part series detailing BAE Systems’ network of middlemen and agents who were paid generously in return for their political connections and influence during South Africa’s 1999 Arms Deal. The Arms Deal was…
Unaccountable 00015: Arms Deal – The BAE Corruption Bombshell By Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations The Arms Deal was never only about Jacob Zuma and his sweetheart relationship with French arms company Thales. We now have even more proof that it was rotten to the core and demands accountability. It is not often that…
SA FM | Viewpoint | 8 July 2020 | The Auditor General recently released a report and it tells of gross financial mismanagement in the public sector. Now the public sector is bound to attract attention because it runs on taxpayer’s money. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that the same unscrupulous way don’t exist in…
Lack of independence, poor accountability and a culture of silence are some of the issues plaguing the auditing profession globally.
Ciaran Ryan | Moneyweb | 3 July 2020 | A new report by Open Secrets puts them back in the crosshairs. Of the roughly 1 000 people attending the virtual release of the latest Open Secrets report titled The Auditors, a good number were likely from the accounting profession. They must have been squirming in…
Radio 786 | 3 July 2020 | South Africa’s top four auditing companies have been labelled as a cartel. This comes as all four of the firms have been exposed and implicated in audit failure and corrupt dealing. In a special report by Open Secrets titled ‘Corporations and Economic Crime Report’ – it details how…
Sandisiwe Shoba | Daily Maverick | 2 July 2020 | Lack of independence, poor accountability and a culture of silence are some of the issues plaguing the auditing profession globally. A new report by non-profit, Open Secrets, shows how cracks in the system have caused a credibility crisis in the industry and why this is…
While the economic impact of Covid-19 will impact KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, and Ernst & Young (EY) like much of the private sector, they are cushioned by years of sustained and avaricious profit-taking.
Below are the documents cited in Unaccountable 00014: BAE Systems- (Profit) Before Anything Else. This is the final chapter in Open Secrets’ three-part series detailing BAE Systems’ network of middlemen and agents who were paid generously in return for their political connections and influence during South Africa’s 1999 Arms Deal. This week we turn…
Unaccountable 00014 | BAE Systems – (Profit) Before Anything Else By Meghan Samaai This is an instalment in Open Secrets’ series detailing BAE Systems’ network of middlemen and agents who were paid generously in return for their political connections and influence during South Africa’s 1999 Arms Deal. This week, we turn our focus from the…
Unaccountable 00013 | Fana Hlongwane – Agent of BAE Systems By Meghan Samaai This is the second in a three-part Open Secrets series detailing the lucrative relationship between BAE Systems and its covert international network of middlemen. As we saw in Unaccountable 00012, BAE, like many European arms corporations looking to profit from South Africa’s…
Below are the documents cited in Unaccountable profiles 00012-00013. These profiles are the third and fourth in a series of profiles based on the corporations and middlemen implicated in the multibillion-dollar Arms Deal of the late 1990s. None of these companies or individuals have been held to account. These profiles turn the spotlight onto…
Justice for Ahmed Timol and other apartheid victims Press Statement by the South African Coalition for Transitional Justice The South African Coalition for Transitional Justice (SACTJ) notes with deep concern the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) that it does not intend to pursue charges against two apartheid Security Branch police officers, Seth Sons…
Zukiswa Pikoli | Maverick Citizen | 19 June 2020 | “In South Africa, the struggle against State Capture and corruption remains part of the struggle for human rights and social justice – we will work hard to ensure that institutions like the Zondo Commission are effective,” insists the Civil Society Working Group on State Capture.…
Unaccountable 00012 | John Bredenkamp – Agent of BAE Systems By Meghan Samaai 18 June 2020 This week, Open Secrets continues to profile the corporations and individuals implicated in corruption in the 1999 Arms Deal but yet to be held to account. The European arms corporations that profited from the deal used a similar modus…
Mamello Mosiana | Daily Maverick | 17 June 2020 | While few immediately associate youth issues with pensions, the reality is that many young people actively participate in and even depend on the pensions industry. This includes their participation in the ongoing struggle of millions to access more than R42-billion in pension benefits owed to…
16 June 2020 | Mamello Mosiana | While few immediately associate youth issues with pensions, the reality is that many young people both actively participate in, and depend on, the pensions industry. This includes their participation in the ongoing struggle of millions to access over R42 billion in pension benefits owed to individuals and families,…
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Business Live | 11 June 2020 | Questionable appointments, or failure to appoint people, remain a blot on the finance minister’s copybook. It raises the question: has he lost interest? Tito Mboweni is a politician wrapped in contradiction. He clearly thrives on the warm affirmation he elicits from his 778,000 Twitter followers. He knows how…
Geraldine Frieslaar and Hennie van Vuuren| Daily Maverick | 5 June 2020| Good news and glimmers of hope are in short supply these days. This is perhaps all the more reason to take note of a recent precedent-setting court judgement. In the past week, feisty pint-sized civil society organisations prevailed against the mighty South African…
In a landmark ruling, the SCA set aside a High Court judgment denying SA History Archive access to documents of suspected apartheid-era financial crimes
Neroli Price | Maverick Life | 29 May 2020 These podcasts pay homage to two women who stood up for what they believed in and paid with their life for uncovering the truth. Dulcie September and Daphne Caruana Galizia were from different countries and different eras, but they both stood up for what they believed…
Dear Judge Zondo, RE: State Capture Commission of Enquiry Hearings During Covid-19 We write to you as concerned members of the Civil Society Working Group on State Capture, which comprises more than twenty civil society organisations. In February 2020, we presented an Agenda for Action to the Commission, which is based on detailed submissions made…
Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa We, the undersigned organisations, commend you for the decisive action taken over the last few weeks in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. We note the efforts of the state in placing the health and wellbeing of people at the forefront of decision-making. However, we are acutely aware of the dire financial…
Sifiso Zulu |Eyewitness News | 23 May 2020 | JOHANNESBURG – Civil society organisations have written to President Cyril Ramaphosa calling for transparency in the distribution of COVID-19 relief funds. The Ahmed Khathrada Foundation is one of several groups that raised concerns about potential corrupt activities and the handling of the money in government departments…
Daily Maverick | 22 May 2020 | In this letter to the president, organisations raise concerns about corruption during the Covid-19 crisis. Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa We, the undersigned organisations, commend you for the decisive action taken over the last few weeks in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. We note the efforts of the state…
Below are the documents cited in Unaccountable 00011: Thales- How to buy a country. This profile is the second in a series of profiles based on the corporations and middlemen implicated in the multibillion-dollar Arms Deal of the late 1990s. None of these companies or individuals have been held to account. This profile is…
Unaccountable 00011: Thales – How to buy a country By Meghan Samaai This week Open Secrets publishes the second in a series of profiles on the corporations and middlemen implicated in the multibillion-dollar Arms Deal of the late 1990s. This week we focus on the company at the heart of Zuma’s Arms Deal corruption scandal…
10 May 2020 | You may be facing hardship but what if you’re owed money? Michael Marchant of Open Secrets of tells me there’s R43b in retirement funds owing to 5m beneficiaries & they don’t know about it. Find out how you can claim in this podcast.
Michael Marchant | Daily Maverick | 8 May 2020 | In the context of a strained fiscus and a dysfunctional social security agency – freeing up private assets that are owed to poor and vulnerable individuals could also go a long way to supporting the increase in social welfare grants. It is in this context…
Below are the documents cited in Unaccountable 00010: Jacob Zuma- Comrade in Arms. This is the tenth profile in the Unaccountable series and the first of a series of profiles on the 1999 Arms Deal and its aftermath. The profile focusses on former president of South Africa and the ANC, Jacob Zuma. This week…
Unaccountable 00010: Jacob Zuma – Comrade in Arms By Meghan Samaai and Hennie van Vuuren 6 May 2020 This week Open Secrets publishes the first of a number of profiles on the corporations and middlemen implicated in the multibillion-dollar Arms Deal of the late 1990s. None of these companies has been held to account. The…
Below are the documents cited in Unaccountable 00009: McKinsey- Profit over Principle. This instalment of the Unaccountable series is the fourth based on Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations’ investigative report, The Enablers: The bankers, accountants and lawyers that cashed in on state capture. In profile 00009 – Profit over Principle – Open Secrets examines the…
Open Secrets and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies | 29 April 2020 | Open Secrets and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) share a common goal of holding businesses accountable for their complicity in crimes against humanity which includes the crime of apartheid. On 27 April 2018, CALS and Open Secrets laid a…
Unaccountable 00009: McKinsey – Profit over Principle By Mamello Mosiana Big consulting firms take no credit and they accept no blame. This philosophy has enabled McKinsey & Company to profit with ease from work with authoritarian regimes, troubled businesses and corrupt state-owned enterprises. In South Africa, their work at Eskom and Transnet on some of…
Statement – United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner | GENEVA | 27 April 2020 | OECD Member States should consider establishing a mechanism to prevent conflict of interest of their National Contact Points (NPC’s) corporate review process to strengthen the procedure and its credibility. Conflicts of interest must be prevented in order…
Media Statement | C-19 People’s Coaltion | 26 March 2020 We, as civic organisations, trade unions, organisations of informal workers, faith-based organisations, NGOs and community structures in South Africa, are concerned about the emerging conditions for COVID-19 lockdown in our country. We see military tanks and guns rolling into our communities, but we do not…
Media Statement | C19 People’s Coalition | 24 March 2020 A call for social solidarity in South Africa We, as civic organisations, trade unions, organisations of informal workers, faith-based organisations and community structures in South Africa, call on all people, every stakeholder and sector, to contain infection, reduce transmission and mitigate the social and political…
These are the files for Unaccountable 00008: FNB and Standard Bank- Estina’s Banks. This instalment of the Unaccountable series is the third of five profiles that are based on the Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations’ investigative report, The Enablers: The bankers, accountants and lawyers that cashed in on state capture. Profile 00008- Estina’s Banks, Open…
Unaccountable 00008: FNB & Standard Bank – Estina’s Banks By Michael Marchant The infamous Estina Vrede Dairy Project was supposed to direct public funds to ‘empower’ indigent Free State farmers and develop local agriculture. Instead, almost all of the money was looted to benefit the Gupta enterprise. This week Open Secrets focuses on two of…
Naushina Rahim | News24 | 18 March 2020 The reality of the modern globalised and financialised world is that corruption on a grand scale, along with organised crime and state capture, is enabled by skilled professionals, including bankers, lawyers, accountants and consultants writes Naushina Rahim ‘An Agenda for Action’ was submitted almost a month ago…
Hennie van Vuuren | Financial Mail | 12 March 2020 Last week, lawyer Robert Appelbaum floated the idea of an amnesty for perpetrators of state capture. It’s a short-sighted idea, designed to appease the powerful and corrupt, says Open Secrets’ Hennie van Vuuren In the home of Joburg-based corporate lawyer Robert Appelbaum hangs a portrait…
These are the documents cited in Unaccountable 00007: HSBC- The World’s Oldest Cartel. This instalment of the Unaccountable series is the second of five profiles that are based on the Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations’ investigative report, The Enablers: The bankers, accountants and lawyers that cashed in on state capture. In Profile 00007- The…
Unaccountable 00007: HSBC – The World’s Oldest Cartel By Mamello Mosiana If Transnet was a golden goose for the Gupta family and their associates, then global banking giant HSBC played the role of tending their illicit nest eggs. This week Open Secrets examines the role of a key global enabler in the State Capture network.…
This investigative report shows that the systems that enable grand corruption and state capture are global in nature, and that private sector elites are central to the problem.
