Friday 11 January 2008

Big fish swim in banks

Source: Mmegi

Just on the heels of corruption charges that have been slapped on former Debswana employees, there is yet another multi-million high profile case in the offing. This time it is the commercial banks that are said to be reeling from sophisticated fraud that has left them poorer by many millions of pula. The suspects are not just petty thieves but respected elders and men believed to be some of the country's richest businessmen.

The grafters at the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) are said to be wrapping their investigations around a huge case of graft.

There is a belief that the suspected plunderers burnt a heavy black hole of up to several tens of millions of pula in the coffers of at least two local commercial banks through a form of money laundering.

When asked about this incident, the Managing Director of Barclays Bank (Botswana), Thuli Johnson said he was bound by the Banking Act not to discuss activities, transactions or accounts of individuals with third parties.

"Even in the event that we could have made a report to an investigation agency - and we make these reports occasionally - it would be unethical for me to discuss this with the press," Johnson said.

Standard Chartered Bank is one of the banks that are alleged to have been hit by this spate of sophisticated white-collar crime. It is believed that Standard Chartered could have been the hardest hit.

Asked if her bank had been hit in the pocket, the Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Serty Leburu said since she was holding the fort for the substantive CEO, David Cutting, she was not privy to such information which might be the domain of her boss-Cutting.

"Mr Cutting is out of the country, you may have to talk to him when he comes back next week. I am not aware of any fraud activity" said Leburu.

There is, however, a strong indication that these activities were reported to the DCEC for investigation.

Information reaching Mmegi is that the DCEC has in turn engaged the services of forensic experts to help trace the millions of pula that disappeared from the bank through some sophistry.

It is understood that the DCEC, with the help of these experts, has unravelled the money trail. One of the suspects is understood to have skipped the country, perhaps fearing for the worst.

When DCEC was contacted for comment, they did not want to reveal much. Poppy Monyatsi, the Assistant Director relaying the instructions of acting director, Rose Tsiane-Seretse, said they would not want to confirm or deny that they are investigating some rich well known Batswana businessmen for fraud amounting to millions.

"I have been instructed to inform you that in an answer to your question, we cannot confirm or deny the allegation contained in your enquiry," she pleaded.

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