The African National Congress (ANC) has called for criminal action against banks that were involved in the manipulation of the rand over several years.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the banks that were involved in currency manipulation were sabotaging the economy and must be charged for these crimes.
She said the R43 million fine imposed on UK-based Standard Chartered Bank was a slap on the wrist, and they want law enforcement agencies to pursue criminal charges against banks implicated in the scandal.
The Competition Commission reached a settlement with Standard Charted Bank this week, and the bank has agreed to give more information on other banks.
The commission began its investigation eight years ago into rand manipulation.
There were 28 banks that were investigated for rand manipulation, and these were local and international banks. The investigation by the commission was looking into the period from 2007 to 2013.
Bhengu-Motsiri said on Friday that when the rand lost its value at the time, the government was blamed, but in reality, the currency was under attack from messaging platforms.
“Our competition law regime criminalises cartel conduct, which is the conduct that Standard Chartered has admitted to. It is time for law enforcement agencies to act and bring these banks to justice. We call upon the relevant law enforcement agencies to enforce the law and pursue a criminal case against the individuals involved.
“During this period, the ANC-led government was wrongly blamed for the depreciation of the rand. Meanwhile, our economy was under attack through messaging platforms like Bloomberg and Reuters. Real justice must be served for the people of South Africa. We urge all South Africans to stand with us and demand accountability for those banks that have damaged our economy,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also called for action against the other banks that were involved in rand manipulation.
The EFF said officials who were involved must be prosecuted for their conduct.
Politics