Bosasa spent up to R6m a month on bribes‚ says former COO Angelo Agrizzi
Former COO tells Zondo inquiry how firm paid for mining and state-institution tenders
A former senior executive at Bosasa, a major beneficiary of state contracts, has detailed how the facilities management firm forked out millions of rand in bribes a month in order to secure tenders at mining companies and state institutions. The corruption was at times as brazen as handing over grey plastic bags of money to officials. At other times it was insidious, because bribes took the form of braai packs, cufflinks and Cartier and Mont Blanc pens. Former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi told the state capture inquiry on Wednesday that the firm would spend between R4m and R6m a month paying bribes. This was all done with the approval of Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson, he testified. Besides cash, the firm would dish out expensive gifts and grocery items to officials at state-owned entities such as Airports Company SA (Acsa) and the SA Post Office, as well as unionists at companies such as Sasol, he said. Agrizzi was Watson’s right-hand man at Bosasa from 1999. He resigned in 2016. This is the...
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