The warrants, served by environmental management inspectors and the NPA on Tuesday, came as Sasol executives defended the company against allegations first made by whistleblower Ian Erasmus in 2019. During the briefing, it emerged that investigators had widened their criminal probe to include additional allegations against the company. Erasmus, who worked at Sasol from 2005 until 2020, alleges he was forced to resign after raising concerns internally and externally about environmental non-compliance. It was criminally charged in 2022 over alleged historical environmental management failures at its Secunda operations. He said its subsequent refusal to answer MPs’ questions after learning of the NPA warrants was “extremely disingenuous”.