Inquiry Alleges ‘Substantial Impropriety’ at South Africa’s Public Investment Corp.
A judicial inquiry in South Africa recommended sweeping changes to laws governing Africa’s biggest fund manager after it found senior management, including former Chief Executive Officer Dan Matjila, flouted internal procedures.
The investigation, led by retired Judge Lex Mpati, concluded there had been “substantial impropriety” at the state-owned Public Investment Corp., which manages 2.13 trilllion rand ($130 billion) of state-employee pension funds. It found that the board had acted as a “rubber stamp” for Matjila, who failed to disclose material information when making investment decisions.
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The PIC oversees the pensions of more than 1 million South African state employees and the assets under its control equate to about 10% of the total market value of all the companies that trade on Johannesburg’s stock exchange.
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‘Undue Influence’ “Matjila’s requests to provide financial assistance or make contributions to individuals, organizations and political parties reflects his abuse of office and the ability to exert undue influence over investee companies,” the commission said in its 995-page report.
The commission also found that other senior managers used various means to “give
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