Eskom paid for diesel and recorded it as 'received' in its books - in some instances that process was at best a sleight of hand; at worst, a fraud. Even now, R1-billion worth of diesel has still not been delivered, though Eskom insists it is 'available'.

Last month, a group of investigators turned up at the gates of Burgan Terminal, a massive fuel import and storage depot in Cape Town harbour.

They were looking for diesel: not to buy it, but to locate 39 million litres (currently worth R1-billion) that belongs to Eskom. But instead of welcoming them in, the security guards allegedly shut the gates.

For more than a year, the investigators, from forensic firm Itsamaya Holdings and Eskom's own Group Investigations and Security Department, had been digging into allegations surrounding diesel contracts, potentially worth R21-billion, that Eskom signed in December 2024.

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Eskom has been tight lipped about the investigation, but internal documents independently obtained by amaBhungane show that Eskom had recorded the 40 million litres diesel as "received" at Burgan Terminal in July last year and had made two payments to its supplier, Lanele Resources, of R360-million each.

These were Eskom assets, recorded in Eskom's books. But did the diesel actually exist?

Three weeks ago, after questions from amaBhungane, Eskom issued a quiet Friday afternoon press release, saying: "Eskom... received an independent verification report confirming that there were no discrepancies between the diesel delivered or available to Eskom and the amounts paid."...