‘Blackhead is a reputable business operating fully within the laws of
South Africa, is tax compliant and rejects the allegations that its
business has benefitted from any unlawful activity or political
connections,’ Sodi’s lawyers claimed. ‘All the contracts that Blackhead
has won have been through proper procurement processes. Any other
suggestion is simply wrong.’ They said they had undertaken a
‘complete review’ of Blackhead’s financial activities. ‘It does not
disclose payments to any politically connected individuals.’
The lawyers were certain that once I had sight of Blackhead’s bank
records, I would conclude that Sodi’s firm had not made any of the
suspicious payments listed in Mpambani’s version of the spreadsheet.
They were wrong.
On 26 March 2015 , the FSHS transferred R 25 million to the
Blackhead–Diamond Hill joint account, according to bank records in
the IgoFiles. This was the third payment. If the spreadsheet were
accurate, after receiving a slice of this instalment from the FSHS,
Blackhead would have been required to pay altogether R 3. 2 million to
five of the abbreviated third parties listed in the document. The
amounts ranged between R 300 000 and R 1 million. One such
payment, at least according to the spreadsheet, was for an amount of
exactly R 1 million to a certain ‘TZ’. One of my sources alleged that
‘TZ’ was a top-level official at the national Department of Human
Settlements who had played a role in transferring the asbestos audit
contract to the Free State without a tender process. This official’s name
is being withheld on legal advice, seeing as the IgoFiles do not contain
proof that this person received the money.
But a peek at Blackhead Consulting’s bank statements allowed me to
establish that Sodi’s firm had indeed made at least one payment that
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(Nora)
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