Business
Angelo Agrizzi Reveals Shocking Details About Bosasa Empire’s Illicit Operations
Agrizzi's testimony was prematurely postponed on Thursday owing to concerns around his safety
Former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi revealed a lot of shocking details about the company’s operations when he was testified at the state capture commission on Thursday. The testimony was prematurely postponed owing to concerns around Agrizzi’s safety after he raised red flags over the presence of a former policeman and Bosasa’s head of security, Solomon Segale.
During the testimony, Agrizzi revealed numerous details about illicit operations at the controversial Bosasa empire. He said he is speaking out now because he wants to show the extent of corruption at Bosasa, reported News24.
He revealed the company’s politically-connected chief executive, Gavin Watson, bribed officials and politicians to get lucrative government contracts for catering, security and facilities management services.
Agrizzi informed the commission that the money which the company used for bribes was all laundered. Interestingly, the bribes were not paid in lump sums but in monthly payments to ensure people they bribed were beholden to them. He revealed that Watson referred to the bribe money as Monopoly.
“You raised your standard of living because of this ‘monopoly money’, and by the time you start complaining about it, it has taken over you,” Agrizzi explained. “If you pay people bribes every month you entrap them and you can control them for life.”
When asked how much money Bosasa spent on bribing officials, the former Bosasa COO said the cash used for bribing amounted to between R4 million and R6 million a month.
Agrizzi even showed a video clip to the commission where the company’s CEO Gavin Watson can be seen counting almost a million rand in cash, which was the money that was intended to pay off bribes. He revealed that Agrizzi says he was threatened every time he wanted to cut ties with the company, which is now known as African Global Investments.
