Investigation finds Eskom paid for diesel that was never delivered

An investigation by the AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism has found that Eskom repeatedly paid for diesel and recorded it as “received” in its books, even though the fuel had not actually been delivered.

In one instance, writes Susan Comrie, five million litres of diesel effectively vanished from Eskom's accounts as the country faced load shedding in January 2025.

When load shedding returned in February 2025, Eskom scrambled to secure diesel supplies. Minutes from a high-level meeting held on the day Eskom implemented stage 6 load shedding show that the utility's most senior officials were aware diesel suppliers were failing to deliver adequate volumes.

In response, officials authorised at least 15 prepayments worth a combined R2.97-billion – but the payments failed to keep Ankerlig Power Station’s open cycle gas turbines reliably supplied with diesel.

More than a year later, 39 million litres of diesel, now worth around R1-billion, remains unaccounted for.

Eskom recorded the fuel as received on its SAP accounting system and paid its supplier, Lanele Resources, accordingly, but global commodities trader Vitol – whose local subsidiary, Vesquin Trading, had been contracted by Lanele to supply the diesel – confirmed to AmaBhungane that only five million litres were actually sitting in tanks at Cape Town's Burgan Terminal.

According to the investigation, both Eskom and Lanele declined to answer questions about the whereabouts of the missing diesel, and Eskom took two weeks to clarify what it meant when it described the fuel as “delivered or available”.

The discrepancy forms part of a broader probe into contracts worth up to R21-billion that Eskom signed in December 2024, which is now being investigated by forensic firm Itsamaya Holdings alongside Eskom's own Group Investigations and Security Department.

Eskom has confirmed that disciplinary proceedings are under way against employees implicated in procurement breaches, and has referred the matter to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation for possible criminal prosecution.

• Read amaBhungane's article.