The former curator of Gupta-linked Optimum coal mine, Peter van den Steen, who resigned in December following death threats, suspected about R6bn was taken from the mine in a matter of seven months in 2022, possibly leaving the country.
The startling figure was disclosed in a judgment handed down by the Durban high court on Wednesday in a dispute between Optimum and Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT).
Optimum, wrested from Glencore by Gupta-owned Tegeta in 2015, has been in business rescue since February 2018. That followed the Gupta family fleeing the country after the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC president two months prior at a conference, where the governing party resolved to establish a commission of inquiry into state capture.
The Gupta brothers, Tony and Rajesh and their lackeys, with the assistance of former president Jacob Zuma, were the main actors in the state capture projects, according to the Zondo Commission report released in 2022.
Optimum dragged RBCT to court after it barred it from using the facility to export its coal. RBCT, the largest coal export facility in Africa, in December notified Optimum that its 6.5-million tonnes a year export allocation would be terminated at the end of January.
RBCT said the decision was due to Optimum’s failure to meet coal exporter requirements pertaining to clauses contained in the RBCT shareholder’s agreement.
According to RBCT, Optimum has ceased to be a coal exporter as it does not mine and produce its coal.
Operations at the mine are carried out by mini-pit contractors, including Liberty Coal, a company owned by former Gupta-associate Daniel McGowan, for their sole benefit with only a minimal royalty for use of the mine being paid to Optimum.
The Durban High Court dismissed Optimum’s application to set aside RBCT’s decision to severe ties with it.
The judgment also showed that there might be money-laundering activities happening at the mine, with huge amounts, likely leaving the country. That is based on a report by Van den Steen. His interim report was led as evidence before the court, and showed more than R6bn dissipated from the company in the seven months between March 2022 and September 2022.
In furtherance of its position, RBCT said the curator’s report indicated that about R850m may be removed from SA every month, “possibly unlawfully, in contravention of the preservation order” that was granted to the NPA by the North Gauteng High Court in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
The presiding judge said the allegations contained in the report raised alarm.
“The figures provided by the curator are staggering, but even if they are exaggerated, if it is the case that money is being dissipated in the way contended, this fact favours an approach where it is prudent to await the outcome of the arbitration proceedings,” the judgment reads.
“Having regard to all of the arguments presented by the parties, I find that the balance of convenience does not favour the applicants or the granting of the interim relief. In all the circumstances, the application for an interim interdict must be dismissed.”
The National Prosecuting Authority, in support of the stance taken by RBCT, also made a litany of allegations against Optimum.
It said Optimum was bought by the Guptas using proceeds of crime. It also raised concern that Liberty Coal is one of the mini-pit contractors benefiting to the tune of hundreds of millions per month at the expense from the mine.
The NPA also charged that the business rescue practitioners of Optimum participated in money-laundering activities by engaging in the various transactions that have been concluded to implement the Optimum business rescue plan.
The NPA particularly took issue with the conversion of the template claims into equity in liberty Coal.
The Shamila Batohi-led organisation further charged that the export allocation of Optimum was being used not for the benefit of its creditors but rather to dissipate value from the company at the expense of the creditors and in conflict with the purposes of the restraint order.
RBCT is owned by 13 coal mining companies, including subsidiaries of Glencore, Seriti Resources, Sasol, Thungela and Exxaro.
Correction: June 3 2023
This article has been amended to indicate that neither South32 or Anglo American subsidiaries are shareholders in Optimum. Their stakes now belong to Seriti Resources and Thungela.
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