JOHANNNESBURG - Eskom chief information officer Sean Maritz has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of impropriety, the power utility said on Wednesday.
Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe, tweeted, "He was placed on temporary suspension last Friday, which has now been converted into a permanent suspension."
NOTICE: Eskom's Chief Information Officer, Mr Sean Maritz, has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of impropriety. He was placed on temporary suspension last Friday, which has now been converted into a permanent suspension.
— Khulu Phasiwe (@KhuluPhasiwe) January 31, 2018
Maritz is facing extended scrutiny for the role he played in signing off on a suspicious R400 million payment from Eskom to a Hong Kong bank account, ignoring all legal guidance.
The whopping R400 million is considered a ‘kickback’ which was allegedly paid to secure a R25 billion loan from China’s Huarong Energy Africa to build or refurbish power stations last year.
This comes after energy analyst Chris Yelland revealed the documents on his Twitter page, presenting the deal.
Also read: Eskom board agrees with Minister Brown on their respective roles
According to the provided documents, it appears that Maritz did sign off on a promised fee for securing the loan, as well as an invoice sent to Eskom for the fee.
EXPOSED: Following a great article in Business Day last week, here are details of the proposed R400m kickback to a dodgy HSBC Hong Kong bank account signed off by then acting @Eskom_SA CEO Sean Maritz, against all legal advice provided to Eskom: https://t.co/D6eDp7J8lo pic.twitter.com/avQ0g27iFY
— Chris Yelland (@chrisyelland) January 23, 2018