Corruption Watch urges Absa to act on the PP’s findings
20 June 2017
Corruption Watch has urged Absa Bank to respect the public protector’s findings on the CIEX report, released yesterday, calling upon the bank to either repay the R1.125-billion bail-out granted by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to Bankorp Limited / Absa between 1986 and 1995, or otherwise launch a judicial review.
David Lewis, executive director of Corruption Watch, commented: “Absa should immediately make it clear that they will abide by the Public Protector’s finding or that they will launch a judicial review. The Constitutional Court has decided that the remedial powers of the Public Protector are binding and Absa either needs to pay back the money that the Public Protector deems was unlawfully paid in the Bankorp bail-out or it must review this decision. Respect for the rule of law requires this.”
In the main, the report highlights the government’s and SARB’s failure to:
- implement the CIEX report dealing with alleged stolen state funds, in spite of having paid 600 000 British Pounds for the asset recovery company’s services; and