Eskom, McKinsey and Trillian have denied wrongdoing. Sjatil, Desvaux and Yeboah-Amankwah declined to comment for this story.
Sjatil and Desvaux were on McKinsey’s Shareholder Council, its highest leadership body. McKinsey declined to comment on this allegation.
Six sources with direct knowledge of the matter - four former McKinsey employees and two current employees - said there was no investigation until July 2017. Two of McKinsey’s global directors - Europe-based Pal Erik Sjatil and Africa chief Georges Desvaux - and South African office head Saf Yeboah-Amankwah told concerned partners the situation was “under control”, three former McKinsey employees said. It then took a year for McKinsey to act on calls for an internal inquiry into the relationship with Trillian, the sources said. The senior staff were troubled by Eskom’s demand that Trillian must be involved in the deal despite having little experience.
McKinsey, which says it never signed a separate contract with Trillian, also ignored warnings by senior staff in South Africa not to partner Trillian in a deal to advise state utility Eskom which is being investigated for fraud, the sources said. Their comments contradict media statements by McKinsey that it ceased work with the firm, local consultancy Trillian, in March 2016 - after due diligence by external consultants showed the links to the Gupta family, accused by South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog of siphoning public funds. Global consultancy McKinsey worked with a firm in South Africa for four months after learning it was controlled by the Gupta brothers, business friends of President Jacob Zuma accused of corruption, four sources familiar with the deal said.
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