AMABHUNGANE: Eskom paid hundreds of millions for diesel that ‘didn’t exist’

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> Eskom paid for diesel and recorded it as ‘received’ in its books – in some instances that process was at best a sleight of hand; at worst, a fraud. Even now, R1-billion worth of diesel has still not been delivered, though Eskom insists it is ‘available’.

Last month, a group of investigators turned up at the gates of Burgan Terminal, a massive fuel import and storage depot in Cape Town harbour.

They were looking for diesel: not to buy it, but to locate 39 million litres (currently worth R1-billion) that belongs to Eskom. But instead of welcoming them in, the security guards allegedly shut the gates.

For more than a year, the investigators, from forensic firm Itsamaya Holdings and Eskom’s own Group Investigations and Security Department, had been digging into allegations surrounding diesel contracts, potentially worth R21-billion, that Eskom signed in December 2024.

Eskom has been tight lipped about the investigation, but internal documents independently obtained by amaBhungane show that Eskom had recorded the 40 million litres diesel as “received” at Burgan Terminal in July last year and had made two payments to its supplier, Lanele Resources, of R360-million each.

These were Eskom assets, recorded in Eskom’s books. But did the diesel actually exist?

Three weeks ago, after questions from amaBhungane, Eskom issued a quiet Friday afternoon press release , saying: “Eskom… received an independent verification report confirming that there were no discrepancies between the diesel delivered or available to Eskom and the amounts paid.”

But amaBhungane’s own digging suggests that the R721-million that Eskom paid to Lanele in July last year probably bought nothing but thin air and a promise to deliver fuel at a later stage.

Both Eskom and Lanele refused to answer questions on the whereabouts of the 39 million litres of diesel, and for two weeks Eskom refused to even clarify what it meant when it said the fuel was “delivered or available”.

But Vitol – the Swiss commodities giant that part owns the Burgan Terminal – agreed to play open cards: Lanele had contracted Vitol’s local subsidiary, Vesquin Trading, to provide it with diesel for Eskom, it confirmed. A total of 38.8 million litres remained outstanding, but only five million litres were physically in the tanks at Burgan Terminal.

“Vesquin… will deliver the outstanding balance of diesel when it is required,” Vesquin director Harvey Foster told us. “Five million litres [of] their remaining balance will remain in-tank at Burgan earmarked for ultimate supply to Eskom…”

This disclosure is significant: Eskom recorded the diesel as “received” a year ago and paid R721-million for it. Now, it appears that, at best, Eskom had bought five million litres and had an IOU for the rest.

This wasn’t an isolated incident.