Under-fire power utility Eskom is set to probe some shady deals the parastatal had with German-based software giant SAP.

Yesterday, SAP said it found compliance breaches and "indications of misconduct" in $50 million (R595 million) of public sector deals in SA involving the controversial Gupta family, friends of former president Jacob Zuma accused of corruption.

Outlining the findings of an external legal review of five software deals with state-run electricity firm Eskom and rail-freight company Transnet, SAP said three executives suspended last year had resigned without severance pay.

SAP admitted it paid more than $8 million (R95.2 million) to intermediary companies controlled by the Guptas.

The SAP investigation probe was overseen by executive board member Adaire Fox-Martin to "vigorously review contracts awarded by SAP South Africa".

In a short statement issued yesterday, Eskom says it "is aware of the findings of an investigation that was undertaken by technology group SAP. SAP had only discussed these findings with Eskom management yesterday (Wednesday, 7 March 2018), and Eskom has committed to undertaking its own investigation and will work together with SAP."

Other tech companies were also implicated in the so-called #GuptaLeaks scandal, where they allegedly paid kickbacks to access lucrative state contracts. These include fellow German-based multinationals like Software AG and T-Systems.

Of late, Eskom has hogged the limelight because of its weak financial position, declining revenue and governance failures, which are threatening the sustainability of the company going forward.

In its financial results, Eskom's profit was down by 34% and the utility's debt is sitting at over R300 billion.

Government recently appointed a new board at Eskom as an immediate measure to strengthen governance and management at the parastatal.