Trillian Capital Partners, the Gupta-linked company central to the state capture allegations against the controversial family, has been evicted from its Melrose Arch offices in Johannesburg because of reputational risk, Business Day reported.
Trillian, formerly owned by Gupta lieutenant Salim Essa, allegedly earned millions from Eskom and Transnet in consultancy fees, as a "sub-contractor" of consultancy firm McKinsey. But the company apparently did no work, and amaBhungane previously reported that it played gatekeeper to international consultancy firms like McKinsey who wanted access to government and state-owned enterprises.
Melrose Arch spokesman James Wilson told Business Day that Trillian had about a year left on its lease, and that the company cancelled its lease "by mutual agreement" and left the premises.
He reportedly added, "We are happy to be rid of them."
"There were reputation-related risks to keeping them as a tenant. We are not going to try to collect the rest of the rent on the lease and the relationship between us and Trillian has been terminated.
"Because of the negative nature of dealings by Trillian, it was in our best interests to no longer have them as tenant," Wilson reportedly said.
Meanwhile, Eskom is going to court to recover funds from McKinsey, and also wants to find ways to reclaim money paid to Trillian, Fin24 reported in April. McKinsey has already said it will pay back the money to Eskom, but Trillian reportedly says it delivered on its contractual obligations and has no reason to do so.