‘Veiled threats’ to Nedbank

Nedbank Group chief executive Mike Brown has detailed how the bank was strong-armed with “veiled threats” by former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane to reverse its decision to close Gupta-linked bank accounts.

Brown, who testified at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture yesterday, said Zwane suggested at an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) meeting on May 6, 2016, that Nedbank should “step in” and “become a primary transaction bank for the Gupta-family”.

After the meeting, Zwane reminded Brown that South African commercial banks received their banking licence from government.

“It felt like a threat as the subtext [of Zwane’s statement] was ‘be careful, things could happen to your licence if you don’t do things in a particular way’,” he said.

“The numerous referencing to the licensing regime [by Zwane] was the pressure placed on the bank.”

Zwane was chair of the inter-ministerial committee, set up by president Jacob Zuma’s Cabinet after the big four banks severed ties with the Guptas over its suspicious transactions.

“I left the meeting with the impression that a good outcome for the IMC was for Nedbank to save the Gupta family, which Nedbank was not prepared to do,” he said.

In his attempt to convince Nedbank to reopen the accounts, Zwane told Brown that closing them would result in “16 000 job losses” as the Gupta entities wouldn’t have banking facilities.

Between April 7 and May 7, 2016, Nedbank terminated the accounts of Gupta-owned entities including Oakbay Investments, Confident Concepts, Sahara Computers and VR Laser Services – all central to the state capture project.

Brown’s testimony concurs that of Standard Bank’s former general counsel Ian Sinton, who told the inquiry on Monday that Zwane also threatened to take away their licence.