Former Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi told the Zondo Commission on Thursday that Bosasa was able to get its hands on crucial investigative documents prepared for its prosecution by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) through its alleged corrupt relationship with senior prosecutors.

Agrizzi, who is on the witness stand for the seventh day, told the inquiry that Bosasa received a tranche of documents dating back to 2009 about the status of an investigation into its affairs, including affidavits, internal memoranda, minutes, progress reports, copies of chain e-mails, a draft charge sheet, and undated handwritten notes.

Agrizzi said some of these related to proposed charges on racketeering and money laundering on which the NPA wanted to prosecute former chief financial officer of correctional services, Patrick Gillingham.

"I was told that the above documents came from the files of the NPA concerning the investigation into Bosasa," Agrizzi said. Asked if the racketeering and money laundering case went ahead against Gillingham, Agrizzi said "No, nothing has been done on Mr Gillingham."

Agrizzi said one of the documents handed to him by former correctional services commissioner, Linda Mti, included the names of 27 people who were supposed to be subject to charges of racketeering. This document was authored by Advocate Marijke de Kock and was meant for a select few senior prosecutors. 

Trouble for Bosasa started when the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) investigated and compiled a report on the company's alleged corrupt relationship with officials from the department of correctional services and the department of justice in order to win lucrative tenders. The SIU report was handed over to the NPA but prosecution was stalled. 

Agrizzi said that Bosasa then compiled its own instruction document in order for its lawyers to challenge the legality of the SIU report and get the case closed by arguing that the rights of the company and those implicated were violated. He said the evidence about corruption contained in the SIU report was like "fruit of the poisoned tree".   

Earlier, Agrizzi testified that Bosasa chief executive Gavin Watson paid bribes of up to R100 000 a month to former deputy national director Advocate Nomgcobo Jiba and special Director of Public Prosecutions Lawrence Mrwebi who were handling the Bosasa investigation at the NPA.