THE UNSPOKEN entanglement of South Africa’s banks with white monopoly capital knows no bounds, as we witness a systematic shutdown of the efforts by the country’s “not so strategically aligned” businesses, this time affecting at least 43 companies and several thousand livelihoods.
An order handed down by Judge Matthew Francis in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, revealed that transformative justice has an important role to play in South Africa’s banking sector. This, as the wider Sekunjalo Group took a stand against the banks in what looks set to be an epic battle for transformation, empowerment and the right to trade.
The Sekunjalo Group is looking to stop abuse by South Africa’s all-powerful banking fraternity of socio-economic inequity and has launched several legal actions against South Africa’s banks.
Dr Iqbal Survé, who is an applicant in these cases, and founder of Sekunjalo Investment Holdings (SIH), said: “Sekunjalo (the Group) is being targeted in a proxy battle for control of the media.
Banks are being used to close Sekunjalo Group accounts to destabilise the group, with what we believe to be the aim as being the complete destruction of Independent Media.”
In this case, Sekunjalo had applied for a court interdict against Nedbank’s move to close the bank accounts of Sekunjalo-related companies’ accounts, which the Cape Town High Court dismissed on jurisdiction grounds, but was in agreement on the matter of urgency.
Nedbank chief executive Mike Brown, said: “The Western Cape High Court has dismissed an interim interdict application to halt the closure of bank accounts belonging to Dr Iqbal Survé and the Sekunjalo Group, until such time that the matter has been heard and ruled on in upcoming Equality Court and Competition Commission proceedings.
“Nedbank is bound by client confidentiality and is unable to discuss clients with third parties. It bears noting, however, that decisions to terminate banking relationships with clients are neither arbitrary nor discriminatory.
“Nedbank has robust policies, processes and governance which guide the
bank in these matters and such decisions are taken independently by Nedbank, with reference to its own assessment of all the relevant information and due diligence processes and the particular facts and merits of each case.
Nedbank’s obligation to manage its client relationships in line with these frameworks exists independently of any other matter.”
However, as confirmed by the high court judgment – which found in favour of the Sekunjalo Group in terms of urgency – it was not an outright victory for Nedbank, whose counsel had once again used the Supreme Court of Appeal Bredenkamp and others versus Standard Bank and others 2010 case to defend “Nedbank’s ironic decision”.
Sekunjalo said, “in this matter, Judge Francis considered the Bredenkamp outcome should not be used mechanically by banks for summarily terminating contracts, and that due consideration be given to constitutional merits.”
On what could be termed as a group boycott of the Sekunjalo Group by some of the banking fraternity, Dr Iqbal Survé commented: “This is part of an ongoing battle between the political establishment of President Ramaphosa and his proxies, who have targeted Sekunjalo through regulatory institutions such as the JSE, FSCA and CIPC and more.”
The Group also firmly believes that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), among many such entities and bodies, has subjected it to harassment, and repeatedly so over the past few years.
It is the Group’s understanding that this prejudice commenced on Cyril Rama-phosa assuming the presidency.
“It is the media’s role to hold government to account. Since Independent Media’s exposé of the CR17 funding campaign, and several corrupt activities under the president’s watch, such as the PPE funding scandal and numerous other corrupt deals involving his government and Cabinet ministers, this harassment has escalated.
“There are at least 20 companies operating in South Africa today, which have openly admitted to fraud and corruption. They have not had their banking facilities revoked.
Instead, they have maintained their transactional abilities, uninterrupted, even though some of their directors have been criminally charged and arrested, and others implicated in the State Capture Commission, including as aforementioned, Nedbank.”
Sekunjalo also accused the banks of being guilty of corruption in terms of their conduct, as has been shown in numerous cases; with Nedbank/Regiment Capital, Investec Bank and the global tax fraud matter, and FNB regarding Wesbank’s collusion with Toyota. And all the banks have been found guilty of rand-fixing according to the Competition Commission.
Judge Francis dismissed the matter on jurisdiction, and ordered each party to pay their own costs.
This is a developing story.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE