The South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago will not get involved in the Guptas versus banks saga.
"The Reserve Bank does not interfere in the relationship between a bank and its clients," Kganyago told a media conference yesterday.
His comments come after the Democratic Alliance requested that the Reserve Bank investigate whether the banks, who had business relationships with the Guptas‚ complied with all the relevant provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.
Various major banks including Barclays Africa' Absa, Nedbank and Standard Bank recently closed Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments' accounts following the 'state capture' controversy surrounding the family.
Here's why banks ditched the Guptas
"We have got a responsibility to prudentially regulate the banks and we derive that power from the Banks Act.
"The Financial Intelligence Centre Act also gives us particular responsibilities with respect to the banks, and those responsibilities entail us in having to assess whether the banks have got adequate procedures to comply with anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism activities. Those are done in terms of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act and its regulations," explained Kganyago.
He said that the banks are required by law to report and suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Centre but does not know what suspicious transactions the banks have picked up with Gupta accounts.
"If the banks pick any suspicious transaction in terms of the act and the regulations, that suspicious transaction report gets sent to the Financial Intelligence Centre. The regulation further states that if a bank has reported suspicious transaction to the Financial Intelligence Centre it shall not disclose such a report to anyone.
"So what suspicious transactions the banks have picked, we don't know because according to the law they should tell the Financial Intelligence Centre not us. The banks wouldn't report anything to us," he said.
Kganyago said that the only suggestion he could give was for the Guptas to approach the courts.
"There is nothing I can do other than to suggest to the client who feel deprived to approach the courts and force their rights. That is the only route that is open. That's all that I could say with respect to what we could be doing."
The Reserve Bank will not interfere in the Gupta vs banks saga
The South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago will not get involved in the Guptas versus banks saga.
"The Reserve Bank does not interfere in the relationship between a bank and its clients," Kganyago told a media conference yesterday.
His comments come after the Democratic Alliance requested that the Reserve Bank investigate whether the banks, who had business relationships with the Guptas‚ complied with all the relevant provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.
Various major banks including Barclays Africa' Absa, Nedbank and Standard Bank recently closed Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments' accounts following the 'state capture' controversy surrounding the family.
Here's why banks ditched the Guptas
"We have got a responsibility to prudentially regulate the banks and we derive that power from the Banks Act.
"The Financial Intelligence Centre Act also gives us particular responsibilities with respect to the banks, and those responsibilities entail us in having to assess whether the banks have got adequate procedures to comply with anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism activities. Those are done in terms of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act and its regulations," explained Kganyago.
He said that the banks are required by law to report and suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Centre but does not know what suspicious transactions the banks have picked up with Gupta accounts.
"If the banks pick any suspicious transaction in terms of the act and the regulations, that suspicious transaction report gets sent to the Financial Intelligence Centre. The regulation further states that if a bank has reported suspicious transaction to the Financial Intelligence Centre it shall not disclose such a report to anyone.
"So what suspicious transactions the banks have picked, we don't know because according to the law they should tell the Financial Intelligence Centre not us. The banks wouldn't report anything to us," he said.
Kganyago said that the only suggestion he could give was for the Guptas to approach the courts.
"There is nothing I can do other than to suggest to the client who feel deprived to approach the courts and force their rights. That is the only route that is open. That's all that I could say with respect to what we could be doing."
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