What Banking Officials Told South African Corruption Inquiry
- FirstRand, Absa tell of pressure not to shut suspect accounts
- Commission is probing graft allegations during Zuma’s rule
Officials from four of South Africa’s largest banks told an inquiry into the looting of taxpayer funds that they faced intense political pressure to continue providing services to businesses that belonged to a family close to former President Jacob Zuma.
Standard Bank Group Ltd., FirstRand Ltd., Absa Group Ltd. and Nedbank Group Ltd. shut the accounts of companies controlled by the Guptas in 2016, citing laws against dealing with clients suspected of being party to suspicious transactions. Senior ruling-party and government officials then summoned the lenders’ executives to explain their actions. The businesses of the three Gupta brothers, who’ve left the country, have ceased operations, while the governing African National Congress forced Zuma to quit in February.