The former chief financial officer of AYO Technology Solutions has told the PIC Inquiry how she was ordered to tamper with the company’s financials.

Naahied Gamieldien claims she was forced to transfer money to an account belonging to media mogul Iqbal Surve.

Gamieldien has testified an executive at a holding company asked her to hypothetically inflate AYO Technology Solutions’ gross profit margin. This would make it look as if the company’s profit was R50-million after tax, rather than R32-million.

But it appears these theoretical results were then submitted as if they were the actual financials.

Gamieldien was also asked why millions of rand was paid from AYO’s bank account to 3 Laws Capital, owned by Surve.

She said she was instructed to do so to in an attempt to diversify the company’s cash holdings.

“In retrospect, I realise that I erred in making the payments but did so because Abdulla was adamant that the payments be made.

“The board subsequently ratified this as an investment with three laws capital and I signed an investment mandate to this effect,” she said.

The commission has queried the state of corporate governance at AYO, after it was revealed another consortium of Surve’s, Premiure Fishing, was used to fund the buying of AYO BEE shares.

The inquiry’s asked the evidence leader to keep an eye on Gamieldien in case there are any repercussions resulting from her testimony, given she still works for AYO in another capacity.

In a statement, AYO denies there would be negative repercussions for employees called to testify at the commission.