The SIU has seized hard drives and documents from the offices of the Alexander Bay Diamond Company as part of its probe into corruption at state-owned diamond firm Alexkor, reports Fin24.

Alexander Bay was previously known as Scarlet Sky Investments, with Gupta ‘fixer’ Kuben Moodley being the majority owner.

In 2015 it was appointed to undertake the sale and valuation of diamonds for Alexkor.

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the unit raided Alexander Bay’s Johannesburg offices 'to gather information'.

'The raid of Alexander Bay offices is crucial for the SIU to complete its investigation in the affairs of Alexkor,’ said the unit.

The report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture found Alexander Bay was appointed as a service provider for Alexkor without a licence to sell diamonds or any track record in the diamond industry.

The SIU was tasked by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2021 to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration related to the marketing, valuation and sale of diamonds by Alexkor and its service providers.

Yesterday, the SIU said Alexander Bay had ‘refused’ to disclose details around the sale of diamonds to Alexkor and its CEO, citing alleged non-disclosure agreements signed with buyers of state diamonds.

‘The SIU deemed it necessary to approach the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court for a search warrant to seize documents and computers in order to assist with an ongoing investigation, as normal processes to request information was likely to be met with the same attitude.’

Full Fin24 report