The cited record supports the material proposition.
The State Capture Commission found in 2022 that Eskom made settlement payments to McKinsey and Trillian that were unlawful.
- Claim made by
- Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, official report
- Published
- 29 April 2022
- Evidence score
- 73 How it was scored
- Last reviewed
- 25 October 2026
Why this label
The Eskom volume of the commission's report lists, under its key findings, a heading stating that Eskom's settlement payments to McKinsey and Trillian were unlawfulS4. We tried to read the findings pages, but the online PDF text stops before them, and the commission's own site gave no readable text. So the finding rests on the report's heading. A Daily Maverick report on the volume says the commission found that Eskom managers prepared irregular and unlawful submissions for the board on the McKinsey and Trillian contractsS6. The DOJ release confirms McKinsey repaid revenues from the contracts in 2018 and 2021S1. A commission of inquiry makes findings and recommendations. It does not convict.
Current procedural position
Commission finding published in Part IV, Volume 4 of the report on 29 April 2022S4S6. Findings of a commission of inquiry are not court judgments.
Record supporting the assessment
Eskom provides settlement payments to McKinsey and Trillian that are unlawful
General conclusions and recommendations: Eskom and McKinsey-Regiments-Trillian
irregular and unlawful submissions for the Eskom board
voluntarily repaying, in 2018 and 2021, all revenues
Conflicting or limiting record
No record located that conflicts with this assessment.
Evidence score: 73 of 100
The score grades how well the record establishes this assessment. It is not a score of McKinsey & Company Africa (Pty) Ltd. Score = source authority + directness + corroboration + procedural accuracy + currency + reproducibility.
| Component | Points | Max | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source authorityIs the source competent to establish the proposition? | 25 | 30 | A judicial commission of inquiry is competent to make findings but not to convict. |
| DirectnessDoes the source state the proposition or only discuss adjacent facts? | 13 | 20 | The finding is read from a heading and a press report, as the findings pages could not be extracted. |
| CorroborationDo independent records support the same material point? | 11 | 15 | A named press report on the volume agrees with the heading, and the DOJ repayment record is consistent. |
| Procedural accuracyDoes the record settle the procedural state the claim describes? | 8 | 15 | Commission findings are final as findings but carry no judicial status. |
| CurrencyHas the record been checked against later developments? | 8 | 10 | Checked against the 2024 resolutions and McKinsey's account of the 2025 withdrawal of NPA charges. |
| ReproducibilityCan a reader locate the passage and repeat the assessment? | 8 | 10 | The report is public on SAFLII, though it is a long PDF. |
| Total | 73 | 100 |
Timeline
Revision history
- Assessment first published with label Supported.
Have a record that changes this assessment? See corrections and responses.
Sources
- S4Tier A Report: Part IV, Vol. 4: The Capture of EskomJudicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. Commission report. 29 April 2022.Official commission report. Its table of contents lists a key finding that Eskom settlement payments to McKinsey and Trillian were unlawful. The findings pages could not be extracted from the online PDF, so the finding text itself was not read.
- S6Tier C No dodging the State Capture hangover for McKinsey and TrillianDaily Maverick. Press report. 29 April 2022.Report by Jessica Bezuidenhout on the Eskom volume's findings on McKinsey and Trillian. It is press, not the report text.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
- S1Tier A McKinsey & Company Africa to Pay Over $122M in Connection with Bribery of South African Government OfficialsUS Department of Justice. Regulator press release. 5 December 2024.Supports the DPA, the charge, the penalty and the 2018 and 2021 repayments. It does not give a docket number or later developments.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
Other claims about McKinsey & Company Africa (Pty) Ltd
- Supported88The US Justice Department said in December 2024 that McKinsey Africa agreed to pay bribes to then officials at Transnet and agreed to a criminal penalty of US$122,850,000 under a deferred prosecution agreement.Regulator statement, 5 December 20243 records citedBribery
- Supported88McKinsey said it returned the fees from its Transnet and Eskom work with interest.Company statement, 5 December 20243 records citedBribery
- Outdated71News24 reported in September 2022 that the NPA charged McKinsey South Africa with fraud, theft and corruption over Transnet contracts.Press report, 30 September 20224 records citedCorporate status