Sasfin: Defeated after the scandal on the rot in its foreign exchange business

Source: © 123rf 123rf amabhungane has published more on sasfin Bank, which has, it says, "this year seemingly declared defeat after a series of scandalous revelations about the deep rot in its foreign exchange business"

Facing a multi-billion rand damages claim from Sars for allegedly facilitating what appears to have been rampant money laundering, the bank first announced that it would remove itself from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and then that it would simply stop being a bank altogether.

Meanwhile it still maintains that its woes stem from the proverbial bad apples – individual employees that need to be brought to book.

However, AmaBhungane has obtained years of records for Sasfin’s forex accounts at FNB and Nedbank – places where it pools clients’ funds before sending them abroad. We also have internal data on the bank’s clients.

Put together these documents, which stretch back a decade, show how Sasfin’s forex department ran amok as long ago as 2014.

This extends beyond cases and individuals already made public by SARS’ recent attempt to hold Sasfin accountable for its trades on behalf of dodgy clients (which we reported on previously).

Sars takes legal action against Sasfin Bank

29 Feb 2024

If nothing else, Sasfin’s accounts show how brokers and staff courted clients that should, on the face of it, never have made it past even a cursory due diligence check.

This includes a number of interrelated companies implicated in money laundering for the network around the Gupta family.

It also includes a byzantine mesh of entities tied to Takela Group – the government housing contractor we recently exposed for seemingly moonlighting in the local money laundering scene.

In general, strange transactional behaviour and fly-by-night account holders abound and have done so for all the years we have sight of.

Sasfin announces 2025 exit from South African banking

23 Oct 2024

Sasfin, in response to all our questions around what follows, told amabhungane the following:

“Sasfin has taken significant and decisive action whenever we have become aware of financial crime, including the exiting of our foreign exchange business. We have been transparent and collaborative with the authorities and regulators. Sasfin maintains a zero tolerance of financial crime and has laid criminal charges against all parties implicated in our investigations. We are unable to comment on allegations involving former clients or employees.”

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