AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
THE SOUTH African government and Reserve bank have rejected sensational allegations that billions meant for education projects and COVID-19 have been stolen.
Instead, the National Treasury and the Reserve Bank have suggested that politician and businessman Tokyo Sexwale, who made the allegations, has been scammed. In a joint statement, the National Treasury and Reserve Bank said the National Heritage Fund does not exist and challenged Sexwale to prove otherwise.
The Nationa Treasury and Reserve Bank suggested that the allegations pointed to a common scam.
“Over the years, National Treasury and the SARB have received many such requests for, or promises, of billions (and now trillions) of rands or dollars, and from experience regard these as simply scams. Any claim that such funds are meant for deserving causes such as COVID- 19 relief, social grants or grants for free education are simply empty promises, to secure the interest of the potential victim.
“National Treasury and the SARB have previously received correspondence from Mr Sexwale and many others that alleges that billions of rands have been stolen from a fund that has been referred to as the ‘White Spiritual Boy Trust’ and which was set up by a foreign donor. It is further alleged that there are trillions of dollars in the said fund and that, inter alia, a certain Mr Goodwin Erin Webb was its mandated representative in South Africa. On investigation, the SARB can confirm that it had no record of the existence of the said fund and it had advised Mr Sexwale in writing that, given the SARB’s experience and knowledge of this and other similar matters, it could only conclude that the alleged fund was a scam. It should be noted that Mr Sexwale is not the first prominent person acting on behalf of a Mr Webb or an unknown donor, for such funds, and such requests can be traced to many years before 2016.
“The SARB can confirm that all cross-border transactions are reported to the SARB by commercial banks who are appointed as Authorised Dealers in foreign exchange transactions. The SARB has concluded that there is no evidence to support the existence of such funds.
“If Mr Sexwale believes otherwise, the onus is on him and his unknown sponsor to provide independently written proof of the existence and/or transfer of such funds, as well as certified copies of actual identification and citizenship of such ‘donors’, in line with the normal FICA- type anti-money laundering requirements. Allegations of theft of non-existent funds have no validity.”
