Raid at Company Linked to Alexkor Corruption Probe
August 14, 22
(IDEX Online) - Hard drives and documents have been seized in a raid on the Alexander Bay Diamond Company, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
It's part of an investigation into alleged corruption at Alexkor, the state-owned diamond firm, and its links to the super-wealthy Gupta family - described by the US Treasury as "members of a significant corruption network".
Alexkor appointed the Alexander Bay Diamond Company (formerly known as Scarlet Sky Investments) to market its diamond production in 2015, even though it was unlicensed to carry out such work, had no relevant experience and reportedly went on to sell the stones at below market value.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which carried out the raid last Wednesday, said Alexander Bay had refused to disclose details about the sale of 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," it said.
A parliamentary committee heard least year that Alexkor, which runs land and marine mining operations around Alexander Bay, on the country's West Coast, was trading recklessly and was technically insolvent.
Screengrab, courtesy SABC, shows computers being seized from the offices of the Alexander Bay Diamond Company.