Standard Bank cannot reasonably expect the public to believe that its decision to shut accounts of Sekunjalo Group-related companies, including Independent Media, is out of a genuine concern when it has hardly – if at all – produced evidence justifying this unjust move.
Independent Media, the largest newspaper firm in South Africa, publishes the Cape Times, The Mercury, The Star, Pretoria News, Daily News, Sunday Tribune, Weekend Argus and the Cape Argus.
Let’s highlight the impact this calamitous decision is likely to have, not only on this country’s media freedom, but on the employees whose livelihoods are at stake.
Standard Bank first cited “reputation risk” as the reason for wanting to shut the accounts of these companies, but has now raised concerns around the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.
Before this, the bank flatly refused to give detailed reasons for shutting down the accounts. Whatever its reasoning, none involve these companies having been implicated in malfeasance, which would have given it enough ammunition to shut the accounts. It does not have such evidence.
In fact, Standard Bank is itself a risk, following explosive revelations that it was among the three major South African banks that helped a gold smuggling gang launder millions of dollars of dirty cash in exchange for regular bribes in Zimbabwe, according to an Al Jazeera investigation.
Its officers, according to the probe, were on the payroll of Mohamed Khan, a money launderer working for cigarette magnate and smuggler Simon Rudland.
“The officers would enable dubious money transfers from Khan’s companies and remove evidence from the computer systems, all while getting monthly payments from Khan,” it found.
With no justifiable reasons, one is left questioning the bank’s motive against Independent Media, especially in light of the allegations that it was a proxy in an attempt to shut down this media house which has been critical of the current administration led by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Could that be the reason the South African government and regulators have no appetite to go after the banks in light of the Al Jazeera investigation?
The founding fathers and mothers of our democracy did not pay the ultimate price only for the banks to oppress people and businesses they dislike.
Cape Times