CAPE TOWN, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The South African Presidency on Monday denied press reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa ignored widespread looting and financial misconduct at a retail bank.
"President Ramaphosa has no knowledge of any meeting where he is said to have met any person associated with VBS Mutual Bank where he was purportedly briefed on the matter," presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko said.
The City Press newspaper reported on Sunday that Ramaphosa knew about the looting at VBS Mutual Bank but did not act.
"The Presidency categorically rejects reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa failed to take action on the VBS Bank saga despite being alerted to irregularities back in 2017," Diko said.
The allegation is baseless and unsubstantiated, said Diko.
In April this year, VBS Mutual Bank was put into administration after it was unable to repay money owed to municipalities following a "severe liquidity crisis."
In a report released last week, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) identified 50 people associated with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) who allegedly used their political influence to ransack and defraud the bank.
The City Press report cited sources "close to a major VBS shareholder" as saying that the shareholder had informed Ramaphosa about what was going on at the bank.
"The claim that President Ramaphosa was forewarned about the impending implosion of VBS Bank is unsubstantiated," Diko said.
The VBS Bank saga was brought to the attention of the president through official government channels including the National Treasury, Diko said.
Ramaphosa subsequently requested a comprehensive report from the National Treasury on this matter and continues to be guided by it on all matters relating to VBS, according to Diko.
"The president reiterates that the relevant law-enforcement and prosecutorial authorities should act with haste and vigour against those behind this unconscionable act of criminality against the most vulnerable in society," the spokesperson said.
South Africans should not be misled by attempts to divert attention away from those responsible, said Diko.
As one of South Africa's smallest lenders, VBS has operated as a licensed mutual bank, funded by its members, for 25 years.
The lender, which isn't listed, gained attention in 2016 when it gave then president Jacob Zuma a mortgage to settle a Constitutional Court order to repay taxpayers some of the money spent on upgrading his private residence.
The bank operates six branches across the country and calls itself a black-owned specialist corporate-finance and retail bank. Its total assets were 2.4 billion rand (about 166 million dollars) at the end of December last year, according to the most recent central bank data.
