Eskom CFO Anoj Singh was suspended yesterday by the board of directors after lenders threatened to recall their loans if no action was taken against him. A Business Day report recalls that Singh has been at the centre of corruption allegations at Eskom that include providing financial assistance to the Guptas to buy Optimum mine through authorising pre-payments and a R1.6bn guarantee for the finance.

The suspension is believed to have come after pressure from Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba. Eskom has R361bn in debt, of which R94bn is not guaranteed by the government. The report notes concerned lenders include the Development Bank of SA (DBSA), which threatened to recall a R15bn loan the conditions of which include that Eskom maintain a clean audit.

Eskom received a qualified audit last week that included R3bn in unauthorised expenditure and two reportable irregularities, related to possible corruption by directors. It is believed that the DBSA threat was followed by one from another major bank the next day. Gigaba met with DBSA representatives earlier this week and yesterday engaged with several other Eskom lenders.

Among allegations that Singh faces – says Business Day – is that he travelled to Dubai five times between June 2014 and December 2015, staying at the five-star Oberoi Hotel on each occasion – on the Guptas’ account. The meetings in Dubai coincided with the family clinching lucrative deals at Eskom and Transnet, where Singh was formerly chief financial officer.

Full Business Day report (subscription needed)