In the wake of disclosures this week that finance minister Nhlanhla Nene previously met the controversial Gupta family, a report has found that his son was involved in securing a Public Investment Corporation (PIC) investment while his father was still chair of the corporation.

The Mail & Guardian and amaBhungane reported on Friday that Siyabonga Nene asked the PIC to fund part of a deal between a company he ran with business partner Muhammad Amir Mirza — Indiafrec Trade and Invest — to acquire 50% of S&S Refinery LDA in Mozambique in 2014. Later in 2014 a new company owned by Mirza, called Zaid International, was mentioned in the deal, while Siyabonga Nene’s name and Indiafrec fell away. A referral fee of $1.7m (R18.5m at the time) from the PIC was later paid to Mirza’s company. Zaid International is registered as a United Arab Emirates free-zone company, and those are typically tax free and opaque...

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