A bad week for Rian Oberholzer

A good week for Shamila Batohi 

Shamila Batohi and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) she heads will receive 50% of a $122m fine imposed in the US on consulting group McKinsey & Co. The group paid the fine to stay out of court — and possibly jail — for bribing officials in the South African government, Transnet and Eskom at the height of the state capture years under former president Jacob Zuma. Details of the US prosecutors’ findings were unsealed last week. The firm also paid about $1bn in settlements for its work with opioid manufacturers, an ongoing criminal investigation. The NPA’s share — just more than R1bn — will come in handy for Batohi and her gumshoes.

A bad week for Rian Oberholzer

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer’s plan to sell 20% of the local game’s commercial rights to a bunch of carpetbaggers from Seattle got short shrift from seven of the 13 provincial bosses. The plan by the man who brought us Kamp Staaldraad two decades ago was thrown out in spite of support from Saru president Mark Alexander, who had pleaded poverty on behalf of the national union. Oberholzer wanted to sell the rights for $75m to Ackerley Sports Group, an obscure company with little experience or any big stakes in international sports marketing, as revealed by the FM in October. A new local group is now interested in picking up the loose ball.