A South African court has authorized the freezing of 1.6 billion rand (US$130 million) in assets earned by global consultancy McKinsey and a firm linked to friends of South African President Jacob Zuma, a source at the state prosecutors’ office said.
The Pretoria High Court made the decision last month after a request by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to freeze the fees earned by McKinsey and local consultancy Trillian for advising South African power utility Eskom.
Privately held McKinsey, one of the world’s largest management consultancies, has already lost several clients over the contract.
Zuma this month agreed to set up a commission of enquiry into allegations of influence peddling by the Gupta brothers, who controlled the firm McKinsey partnered with on the 1.6 billion rand contract to advise Eskom in 2016.
Separately, parliament is investigating whether McKinsey knowingly let funds from Eskom be diverted to Trillian as a way of securing the contract.
“On Dec. 14, 2017, the NPA obtained a preservation order from the Pretoria High Court to preserve assets worth around 1.6 billion rand relating to Trillian and McKinsey,” said an NPA source who declined to be identified.
“Tomorrow parties in the case will be served with the order,” the source said.
The order allows prosecutors to freeze assets pending the outcome of an investigation.
A spokesman for McKinsey said on Monday it had not received formal communication about the preservation order, but McKinsey will cooperate with South African authorities in their investigations into the case.
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