The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network today issued an updated fact sheet to clarify how financial institutions can share information with each other about suspected fraud under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.
The guidance is intended to promote greater information sharing, including in real time, and clarifies that a financial institution may share information about activity involving suspected fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing or other specified unlawful activities, and that it may share that information with any other financial institution eligible to participate in FinCEN’s section 314(b) program to identify illicit financial activity, according to FinCEN. This guidance was last updated in December 2020.
The document also includes examples of the types of information related to fraud and other criminal activity that financial institutions can share under section…
THE TUTUKA POWER STATION PROCUREMENT FRAUD (ESKOM)
Date: August 29, 2025 Perpetrator: Jessie Phindile Kubheka (Supplier Director)
Case Description: As part of the ongoing “cleaning up” of Eskom, Jessie Phindile Kubheka was sentenced to 12 years (with 5 years suspended) for defrauding the Tutuka Power Station. The case involved a sophisticated procurement syndicate that exploited Eskom’s emergency repair protocols. Kubheka’s company was contracted to deliver three high-specification containers for the power station. Only one container was ever delivered, and even that single unit failed to meet the required safety and technical specifications.
Despite the lack of delivery, Kubheka issued grossly inflated invoices, defrauding the utility of approximately R2.6 million. The Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court ordered Kubheka to repay the full amount. This case is significant because it marks a shift in Eskom’s strategy toward “naming and shaming” suppliers and pursuing full asset recovery. It serves as a stark warning to contractors that the 2026 climate of “Zero Tolerance” for state-owned enterprise (SOE) fraud is backed by active judicial enforcement.
Link to Original: Eskom Official – Tutuka Fraud Sentencing