Six weeks is all the time it took for a team of experienced investigators to uncover strong evidence of "possible corruption, money laundering and racketeering" in Eskom's dealings with Gupta-linked Trillian Capital Partners.
G9 Group CEO Rajie Murugan told the parliamentary inquiry into state capture on Tuesday that his company's investigators had been appointed last year by Eskom's anti-corruption and forensic unit to dig deep into payments of millions of rand paid to Trillian, following allegations by a whistleblower that something was wrong.
But after presenting a summary of their findings to the power utility's audit and risk committee (ARC) on August 30, at which time the G9 investigators told board members they wanted to extend the probe to Eskom's board tender committee (BTC), they were quickly shut down.
"At the meeting, it was resolved that the investigation should continue and that G9 should interview [global consultancy company] McKinsey and Trillian, as well as Mr Anoj Singh and others," Murugan said.
All Eskom's interim board members, as well as former chair Zethembe Khoza, were present at the ARC meeting.
"Just before we left the meeting, I addressed the ARC (board members) and informed them that as a forensic firm, it was our duty to probe the BTC. We told them that we believed that they may have contravened their fiduciary duties in respect of this investigation.
"As such, we wished to interview all members of the relevant BTC (including Khoza and [former board member] Ms Viroshini Naidoo, among others), who approved the McKinsey transactions."
Murugan, who before joining G9 served as a lead investigator at The Hague with the United Nations international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said his team had left the August 30 meeting in high spirits.
But this mood was soon shattered
"To our utter amazement, two hours later, we received an e-mail from the [Eskom] board to terminate our investigation and to provide our final report."
Murugan said he regretted having informed the board of his intention to investigate the BTC.
"My exact words to Mr Zethembe Khoza was that we would investigate the BTC decisions, and that I can assure them that we would not 'gloss over' the conduct of the BTC."
The investigation had lasted "all [of] six weeks".
In that time, it had made "significant progress" uncovering contraventions of Eskom policies and the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
"Very quickly, the body of information and evidence pointed towards possible corruption, money laundering and racketeering."
Murugan then told members of Parliament's public enterprises portfolio committee – which is conducting the state capture inquiry – the blame for what he called "this Trillian mess" could be laid squarely at the door of the then board tender committee.
"We [G9] believe that our mandate was terminated because we made clear our intentions to investigate the BTC."
In particular, he pointed a finger at Khoza.
"It will come as no surprise to the committee that the former board, specifically the former chairman, Mr Zethembe Khoza, vigorously and deliberately stifled the Trillian investigation being conducted by ourselves.
"He, acting alone or with others on the board, subjugated the investigation, suggesting it was baseless, without merit or ill-conceived... Such sinister conduct was... a derogation of his and the former board's fiduciary obligations."
Responding to a question, he told MPs that Khoza had spoken to many people about the report that G9 had prepared.
"Among the things he [Khoza] said, was that this report is not worth the paper it's written on. 'It is not substantiated.'
"I can go as far as saying he ventured into two territories that I found disgusting.
"He would make statements like, 'Do you know people get killed for doing these types of investigations?', and 'Who is this G9?', going so far as to suggesting we are 'agents' who have been planted at Eskom."
Murugan later told the inquiry that Trillian had effectively looted Eskom's finances "by stealth", and named others he believed were involved.
"This, in all honesty, could not have occurred without the direct backing and/or gross negligence of [former Eskom senior executives] Mr Anoj Singh, Mr Edwin Mabelane, and Mr Prish Govender."
Later, responding to questions from members about who should be held criminally liable for the goings-on at Eskom, Murugan responded: "In terms of the PFMA... all individual members of the board tender committee."
But in terms of the PFMA and criminal suspicion, and the evidence his team had seen, he singled out Singh.
"Mr Anoj Singh should start packing his bags to go to Sun City; not the one in Rustenburg, but the Sun City [prison] in Johannesburg," he said.