As my BizNews colleague Bernice Maune writes: the net is closing around former president Jacob Zuma’s children involved in state capture and corruption. These include Duduzane Zuma, who was employed by the Gupta family, and Edward Zuma – a key figure in South Africa’s murky tobacco sector.
It has emerged that FNB has closed accounts belonging to Duduzane and Edward. But you have to wonder why the bank’s managers took so long to apply the Financial Intelligence Centre Act laws that compel us all to provide proof of residence and legal origin of funds.
Duduzane and Edward have appeared regularly in the headlines for at least five years in connection with dodgy money dealings. In 2017, former anti-apartheid activist Lord Peter Hain included their names on a list shared in Parliament of individuals who committed financial crimes through global banks (here’s the list, which includes more people in the Zuma family).
Perhaps even bank managers are starting to shake in their socks as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s anti-corruption crackdown starts to gather momentum, with a number of arrests in September, hundreds of people under investigation at Eskom and the Zondo inquiry producing hard evidence?
PS: Fractional property investing was the hot topic at the recent BizNews Finance Friday webinar. More on how you can buy small chunks of properties, in this explainer by property journalist Denise Mhlanga, here. This week, independent financial advisor Dawn Ridler of Kerenga Wealth in Johannesburg and Mike Brown, financial services entrepreneur behind etfSA.co.za are our special guests. Free, but you must register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6646694434270030861.
