MTN, Nokia and others under investigation for allegedly breaking BEE laws: report
A number of major South African companies including Netcare, Nokia, MTN, Eskom and the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) are under investigation for reportedly violating the BBBEE Act.
According to a report by BusinessLive the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Commission are i nvestigating MTN’s Zakhele share scheme.
Specifically, it will investigate whether the Zakhele and Zakhele Futhi BBBEE schemes meet the requirements for black ownership in terms of the codes of good practice and comply with the legislation.
Nokia Solutions and Networks SA are being investigated to determine whether the BBBEE ownership transaction involving its employee trust and Sekunjalo Investment resulting in 26% black ownership and the subsequent change in black ownership (which resulted in 31.28% black ownership by Sekunjalo) is in line with the Act.
Companies found in violation of the BBBEE Act may face prosecution and fined up to 10% of the entity’s annual turnover.
In addition, individuals involved in the breach could be fined or imprisoned for up to 10 years.
Entities can also be excluded from doing business with the government for up to 10 years, and the contracts they have with any state-owned entity or government department can be cancelled, noted, said the department of trade and industry’s Sidwell Medupe.
The commission has given no timeline on its investigations but confirmed the findings will be published at a later date.
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