Thursday marks the deadline for President Cyril Ramaphosa to provide the South African Reserve Bank with answers related to the Phala Phala farm burglary.
According to reports, the central bank said the President did not report the large sum in foreign currency on his Limpopo farm, two years ago.
This follows former State Security Director-General, Arthur Fraser’s criminal complaint against Ramaphosa for allegedly concealing the crime.
Under the bank’s regulations, all foreign currency transactions must be reported to the bank within 30 days.
In a letter to the President’s lawyers, the bank’s Financial Surveillance Department requested information and details regarding the origin of the foreign currency and any underlying transaction that may pertain to it on June 20, confirming that the President did not report the transaction as required by law.
Reserve Bank Governor, Lesetja Kganyago wrote to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance that a response from the President was expected no later than Thursday after which an investigation will ensue.
Namibia
Earlier, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola confirmed that his department received a request for assistance from the Namibian government in September 2020 regarding the robbery at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
Lamola says the request came via the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
In a written reply to a question from Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Werner Horn, Lamola says the only information they received was a Namibian docket number and the names of three suspects, named David, Afrikaner and Shikango.
Lamola says his department forwarded the request to the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit (SCCU) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the following month.
After the SCCU gave the go-ahead, the matter was handed over to an official in his department. It was then found that the request did not meet the requirements of the International Cooperation In Criminal Matters Act.
The minister says a letter was sent to the Namibian High Commission explaining the flaws in their request.
He says government expressed its willingness to help once the amended request had been received and concluded, however, they have not yet received the amended request from the Namibian authorities.
AUDIO: Independent Police Investigative Directorate Spokesperson, Lizzy Shuping on IPID’s decision to probe senior police officers involved in Phala Phala saga:
