@amabhungane: [ICYMI] For years, Nako Energy seemed to have the inside track at PetroSA. First, it signed an R11-billion unleaded petrol deal, then it snapped up two cargoes of diesel at a discount. On a slick, new website it even boasted about plans to build three modular refineries with PetroSA’s parent company, the Central Energy Fund, and how, together, they planned to buy a fleet of 200 petrol stations. But then things began to unravel. The unleaded petrol that was sold as a “gamechanger” for PetroSA turned out to contain a toxic chemical that left stains on some motorists’ cars. The diesel was collected but never paid for. But even as the relationship soured, Nako still, somehow, ended up on top. Last year, PetroSA told Parliament that it had reached a settlement with Nako that would protect everyone’s interests. The details of that deal have never leaked out, until now. It turns out that instead of paying PetroSA the R227-million it owed, Nako persuaded PetroSA to buy another 11 cargoes of fuel at a cost of R7.4-billion. And when PetroSA failed to deliver on its side of the convoluted deal? Nako approached the High Court in a bid to have PetroSA placed into provisional liquidation. Read our latest investigation: PetroSA was owed R227m. It may end up losing R1.4bn instead.

amaBhungane

Open In TikTok:

Region: ZA

Tuesday 29 September 2026 08:07:35 GMT