By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has released its report clearing President Cyril Ramaphosa of allegations of breaking foreign exchange rules related to millions in hard currency that was stolen from his Phala Phala farm in 2020.
The central bank said its approach was not premised “on the unquestioning acceptance of the versions placed before investigators and that all the truth has been told”.
Initially, the Reserve Bank said the full report would not be released to the public because of legal constraints and it is a “private and internal report”.
The Reserve Bank said it initiated the investigation after former spy boss Arthur Fraser and others, including political parties, filed a complaint alleging Ramaphosa had contravened the Prevention of Organised Crime Act by failing to report a burglary at his farm.
The report has since been released as part of the central bank’s response to the DA’s legal challenge.
The Sarb report found that the stolen US dollars formed part of a $580,000 cash payment for buffalo from Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC (also known as Phala Phala Wildlife), the game ranching operation that conducts business at the Phala Phala farm. Ramaphosa is the sole member of Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC.
The buyer of the buffalo, Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa, visited the farm in December 2019, where he spoke to acting lodge manager Dumisani Sylvester Ndlovu.
“After being shown a specific ‘parcel’ of animals in Camp 6, Mr Hazim selected 20 animals which he was interested in. Mr Hazim handed USD580,000 in cash to Mr Ndlovu as payment for the buffaloes he had selected,” stated the report.
The sale was in line with a discussion Ramaphosa had with the farm’s general manager earlier in the year about selling off certain substandard buffalo, potentially to buyers from the Middle East or other African countries.
Ramaphosa was reportedly not at the farm at the time the money was handed over to Ndlovu, but was informed of the transaction when he arrived on the property the following day. He instructed that the money should be kept at Phala Phala until his next visit when he could brief the general manager of the farm on the processing of the transaction.
“On or about [30 December 2019] Mr Ndlovu decided to move the foreign currency from the safe (to which many employees had access and which was used for general storage purposes at the Phala Phala farm) to a bedroom in the President’s house on the Phala Phala farm (which he considered to be a safer place) and hid it under the cushions of a sofa, for fear of some being stolen while he would be on leave,” stated the Sarb report.
“On [10 February 2020] it was discovered that the President’s house had been broken into and the foreign currency stolen.”
The buffalo were never delivered to Mustafa due to factors including the theft of the cash and the onset of the pandemic. The report also found that none of the stolen funds were recovered.
Although the US dollars remained undeclared at the Phala Phala farm for a period exceeding 30 days, Sarb determined that Ramaphosa was not in contravention of Exchange Control Regulation 6(1).
According to the report, while the money was handed over to Ndlovu in December 2019, the conclusion of the sale was subject to certain conditions being met. These included state veterinary examinations, blood tests for the animals and permits for their transportation.
As these conditions were never met, there was no “perfected transaction” between Mustafa and Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC. While the game ranching operation was in possession of the money, it had no legal entitlement to the funds due to unfulfilled conditions precedent to the sale.
“[The Financial Surveillance Department], on the facts available to it, cannot conclude that there was a contravention of Exchange Control Regulation 6(1) by either the President or Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC,” concluded the report.
The report did acknowledge some “inconsistencies and non-alignment” in the evidence it dealt with, but stated there were no material inconsistencies in Ramaphosa’s account of events.
Ramaphosa was also vindicated in June when then acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka cleared him of the allegations, finding he had not taken another job while serving as president and had not violated the members ethics code. She also found that he had reported the burglary by informing his head of security about it.
Two suspects are facing criminal charges for their alleged role in the theft of $580,000 from Phala Phala farm and the case has been postponed until Friday, 10 of November.
Imanuwela David (39) and Froliana Joseph (30) made a brief appearance in the Bela Bela Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The two are facing four charges, including conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, housebreaking with intent to steal, housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, and money laundering.