Former Eskom board member advised Guptas not to pay R2bn Eskom fine
Mark Pamensky, a former board member at Eskom and Gupta-owned Oakbay, advised his Gupta colleagues to negotiate an effective discount of almost R2bn when they bought Glencore’s Optimum Coal in 2015. Pamensky, who recently quit from both Eskom and Oakbay, was intimately involved in brokering the Optimum deal and advised the Guptas to ensure that they did not pay a R2.1bn fine imposed by Eskom on Glencore. The fine — levied after a contractual dispute over a coal supply agreement — broke the back of Optimum and forced the owner, Glencore, into a sale, ultimately secured by Gupta-owned Tegeta. Pamensky’s activities raise questions about a conflict of interest. Although he did not sit on Eskom’s board tender committee, leaked e-mail correspondence shows that he was involved on the side of Tegeta in advising the Guptas against paying the fine. The payment of the fine would have benefited Eskom, whom he also represented at the time. The fine was subsequently reduced to R255.4m, with gener...
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