How the Guptas were subsidised
More testimony emerges on how Gupta media companies received millions of rands from the government, but it remains to be seen whether anyone will be held accountable
The government spent a total of R260m on the Gupta-owned New Age newspaper and ANN7 television news channel, the commission of inquiry into state capture heard this week. National Treasury official Jan Gilliland described to the Zondo commission how money was funnelled to the Guptas through the Government Communication & Information System (GCIS), national and provincial government departments and the offices of provincial premiers. Gilliland tracked payments made to The New Age and Infinity Media — the company that housed ANN7 — through the basic accounting system used by national and provincial government departments. He said the system had found 11 bank accounts linked to the companies and 1,783 transactions. These transactions revealed that Infinity Media, which was established in 2014, received R12m, while The New Age, launched in 2010, got R248m.
The accounting records showed that small payments started as early as 2004, became more substantial in 2014 and 2015 when Fait...
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