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The last cash run
The FSHS made the final payment for the asbestos audit in August
2016. It came to a hefty R 77. 5 million, meaning that the department
had now splurged altogether R 230 million on the dubious project.
Although the full contract cost was R 255 million, the remaining R 25
million would not be paid out. Sources familiar with the saga told me
that the contract had virtually drained the department’s coffers, so there
was simply no more money to settle the rest of the bill.
When the last payment landed in the Blackhead–Diamond Hill joint
account, Mpambani immediately moved the entire amount to 605
Consulting. He next embarked on a spree of intricate transactions that
saw him move millions of rands through bank accounts held in his
name or in those of his other companies and trusts. In the process, he
splashed more than R 10 million on upmarket properties, adding to an
already impressive portfolio of houses acquired since the first asbestos
audit payment. He also used R 1 million to settle his vehicle finance for
a Range Rover. Apart from this and the Bentley, Mpambani now
owned an Aston Martin V 8 Vantage, a Porsche Cayenne and a
Maserati, all bought with the proceeds of the asbestos audit.
He continued to make large payments for ‘consulting services’,
‘engineering services’ and other similarly named expenses. Some of
this money ended up in his other accounts, but the recipients of most of
these payments remain unknown. It was from this final tranche of
money that Mpambani paid R 990 000 to Kingdom Impact, the
company represented by Kenosi Moroka’s law firm.