South Africa’s Central Bank says it can’t conclude Ramaphosa’s broke forex rules
The South African Reserve Bank, after a yearlong investigation, couldn’t conclude if President Cyril Ramaphosa broke the law when he kept foreign currency at his game farm. The money, which was stored in a sofa, was later stolen.
Ramaphosa has said that $580,000 he earned from the sale of buffalo was stolen from his game farm in 2020. A furor erupted after former spy boss, Arthur Fraser, opened a case of money laundering, fraud and corruption against Ramaphosa and led to a number of investigations, including one by the South African Reserve Bank.
Ramaphosa Says $580,000 Was Innocently Hidden in Game Farm Sofa
“On the facts available to it, the SARB finds that there was no perfected transaction and thus the SARB cannot conclude that there was any contravention of the Exchange Control Regulations by Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC or for that matter by the President,” the central bank said in a statement on Monday.
The governor will give Parliament “feedback within the applicable legal constraints,” the central bank said.
The president was cleared by the South African Revenue Service and the grafts ombudsman, known as the Public Protector of any wrongdoing.