How Kebble allegedly bankrolled the ANC exposed

Most of those named in the report online deny they owe the money. However, forensic investigators are urging Kebble’s former mining company, Randgold & Exploration, to claim back about R390m from Kebble’s estate. The Sunday Times, exposing the intricacies of the Kebble web of loans, says it is in possession of a series of forensic reports drawn up by Umbono Financial Advisory Services between October, 2005, and January this year. The reports include a list that was found on Kebble’s desk after his death. It is headed ‘Loan Account’ and according to the Sunday Times appears to be a summary of those he lent money to. At the top of this list, Kebble stated that he had lent the ANC R18m.The ANC, however, claims to have no knowledge of loans from Kebble. Among other things, the forensic reports recommend that criminal charges and civil claims be laid against the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and former Randgold directors and officers.

PwC said it could not comment on the claims. Fulvio Tonelli, a director of PwC, is quoted in the Sunday Times report as saying that his firm had not had contact with the investigators and had not yet seen their report. PwC signed off Randgold’s last audited set of accounts for the year ended December, 2003, finding the statements to ‘fairly present, in all material respects, the financial position of the company’. But, says the report, forensic investigators found that Randgold’s financial statements for the same period ‘grossly misrepresent the financial position of the listed company’. They added in a report to Randgold: ‘It is clear that a material fraud has been perpetrated by the former directors, undetected by the external auditors, against Randgold. The gravity of this situation cannot be over-emphasised.’ Full Sunday Times report

Meanwhile, Randgold has abandoned court action taken against Andile Nkuhlu’s Itsuseng Strategic, following an out-of-court settlement. Two weeks ago, says a Sunday Times report, Randgold moved to liquidate Itsuseng and two other companies, Equitant Trading and Investage 170, after a forensic report found that they had received money from Randgold to which they were not entitled. A provincial liquidation order against Itsuseng Strategic was made by the Johannesburg High Court. On Friday, Nkuhlu said the order had been ‘discharged’ following an agreement between the parties. Nkuhlu, who is a member of the ANC Youth League’s national executive committee, said Itsuseng had agreed to return about R19m to Randgold. The money related to a mining deal Itsuseng had with Randgold in 2003. Full Sunday Times report