Author: Problem Bond Support
Banks facilitated South Africa corruption under Zuma
Several international banks enabled corruption in South Africa under former President Jacob Zuma, British lawmaker Peter Hain has said.
At an inquiry hearing, he said HSBC, Standard Chartered and India’s Bank of Baroda were “directly culpable”.
The inquiry is investigating claims of graft against Mr Zuma and the Gupta family. They deny any wrongdoing.
HSBC said it supported the inquiry while Standard Chartered said there was no evidence linking it to the Guptas.
No-one from the Bank of Baroda was immediately available for comment.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50463681
Before cashing out your pension in South Africa
With unemployment at an all-time high in South Africa, a growing number of people are considering cashing out their pension funds to cover more immediate costs.
Sherwin Govender business development manager at Glacier by Sanlam, highlights a number of scenarios one should consider before taking this step, warning that you shouldn’t rob your retired self.
Retirement savings are your money – but they belong to you when you retire, said Govender.
“Spending it now could mean that you won’t have enough saved to live on when you retire. Not having enough retirement savings means you will need to find income-generating employment after you retire……
What you should know before cashing out your pension in South Africa – and what it will cost you
What you need to know about debt counselling in South Africa
Many consumers are feeling the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on their jobs and income, with some falling behind on their financial obligations. The National Credit Regulator (NCR) has advised, however, that financial distress can be carefully navigated by debt counselling.
Despite life progressively returning to normal as lockdown levels are eased and economic sectors return to productivity, many consumers are facing the bleak prospect of being blacklisted.
Many South African households are in significant financial hardship and others have been struggling to make ends meet even before the Covid-19 pandemic, said Advocate Kedilatile Legodi, NCR acting manager for education and communication…..
What you need to know about debt counselling in South Africa
Two faces of South Africa’s corruption battle
Is South Africa turning a corner in its battle against corruption?
Two powerful images emerged this week, offering starkly contradictory perspectives on the country’s long and tortuous struggle against high-level graft and its attempts to repair a broken judicial system.
The first picture was of a bright red Ferrari (an FF F151, if you must know) being confiscated by officials from South Africa’s Asset Forfeiture Unit, along with a Bentley convertible, two staggeringly opulent villas and others items worth a total of 300m rand ($18.2m; £14m).
Ever since former President Jacob Zuma was pushed out of office, in disgrace, two years ago, and his successor promised to wage war against the “state capture” – the grand corruption that flourished so spectacularly during the Zuma era, the public has been waiting, with growing impatience, to see prominent figures arrested and to see a culture of high-level impunity brought to an abrupt end…..
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54480257
Banking on Reform – An African Case Study
The ongoing curatorship of African Bank has perhaps arisen at a fitting time, when what was historically feverishly slow and sparse insolvency reform across the African continent may just be showing signs of
awakening (the recent enactment of the new Insolvency Act 2015 in Kenya and introduction of Chapter 6 Business Rescue proceedings into the new Companies Act in South Africa being but two examples of this).
The often stark contrast between local practices (which can vary greatly across the African continent’s different jurisdictions) and that which is more closely aligned toward international regimes (UNCITRAL model law and
cross border insolvency regimes being of relevance here) remains a key challenge.
As investors seek to capitalise on growth opportunities across Africa (but at the same time view the risk of insolvency and a lack of clarity over insolvency outcomes and or workout mechanisms available to them as key
impediments), never so more than today has insolvency reform and transparency been more pertinent, for both local and foreign stakeholders alike.
https://www.insol.org/emailer/Nov_2015_downloads/Document1.pdf
What is Forensic Audit?
A forensic audit is an examination and evaluation of a firm’s or individual’s financial records to derive evidence that can be used in a court of law or legal proceeding. A forensic audit may be conducted to prosecute a party for fraud, embezzlement, or other financial crimes.
