Former Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi said on Friday that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in North West province was one of the beneficiaries of money laundering in which his former employers were allegedly involved after it asked for money for electioneering.

Agrizzi told the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State capture that the North West government would sometimes pay Bosasa monies for non-existent software programmes at a youth development centre. Bosasa would later help the ANC in that province with electioneering money even though Agrizzi did not disclose for which election.

Agrizzi said that Syvion Dlamini, the director of professional services at Bosasa Youth Development Centres, and an unnamed MEC disclosed to him the purpose of the fraudulent IT contract. He said that estimate of the value of that North West transaction was about R3.4-million, of which R1.8-million was paid to a "client" for electioneering.

After Agrizzi said that Bosasa was involved in paying for an electioneering campaign of a certain political party, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo cornered him to mention at least the name of the party and not individual politicians, saying that there would be ample time for that.

"Do I have to say it, chair?" Agrizzi asked. "My answer to your question is the ruling party. If I recall, it was about R3.4-million. I think cash of R1.8-million was paid to the individual."

Agrizzi also told the commission of a Bosasa scheme to defraud the department of correctional services using a frozen chicken supplier, as well as other zero-rated VAT products, as Bosasa had a catering contract with the department. He said Bosasa had to pay its chief accountant, Carlos Bonifacio, R10 000 a month to run this scheme. 

Bosasa, according to Agrizzi, had at least seven other methods of raising cash, including casual workers and a ghost workers system, running cash bars and canteens at mining hostels, and pay-as-you-go telephones at Lindela Detention Centre. 

Earlier, Agrizzi told the commission that Bosasa laundered its money and paid bribes using a web of fictitious  "arms-length companies", cash cheques and fake invoices in order to win government tenders. He said the invoices paid out by Bosasa would later return to the company's secret vaults as hard cash used to pay bribes.  

He also testified that Bosasa exploited the deaths of employees' relatives by defrauding a death benefit scheme that was insured by Metropolitan. Bosasa made profits of between 28 percent and 32 percent so auditors were not suspicious about any transaction, Agrizzi said. 

Agrizzi continues to testify after lunch.