EFF: Standard Bank, Afriforum and the dodgy PoP
Standard Bank has come out and clarified the legitimacy of the proof of payment made between the EFF and Afriforum
The curious story involving the EFF, Afriforum, a R320 000 payment and a questionable Proof of Payment document continues to unravel.
ALSO READ: EFF slams AfriForum for ‘attack’ on female judge
On Monday, I wrote that South African opposition party, the EFF had not paid a fee of R320 000 to local lobby group, Afriforum. At the time of publishing, the claims had been made by a social media user who attached proof of payment that was quickly proven to be not only dubious but falsified. The saga continued to play out until Saturday 11 November when Standard Bank (the bank where the payment allegedly came from) issued a statement.
EFF PAYS AFRIFORUM? STANDARD BANK SETS RECORD STRAIGHT
Despite numerous claims that the proof of payment document that had been posted online had been doctored, the original poster maintained that the payment had in fact been made. It later emerged that the payment was said to be for legal costs due to an unsuccessful court battle for the EFF against AfriForum. Shortly after this revelation, Standard Bank came out to clarify that the payment was indeed legitimate, although the proof of payment document was using an outdated template.
ALSO READ: ‘A major victory’: AfriForum on possible scrapping of Covid-19 criminal records
The bank’s spokesperson wrote, “Standard Bank confirms that the documentation circulating in the media, while on an outdated template, reflects genuine transactions which are not fraudulent. Standard Bank denies having confirmed that any proofs of payment in relation to transactions were doctored,”
ALSO READ: No, the EFF didn’t didn’t pay Afriforum R320k
We have an update. pic.twitter.com/wRCfUsXOZT
— Khaya Sithole (@CoruscaKhaya) November 11, 2023
RED PARTY TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION?
The bank went on to apologise to the EFF for the confusion which might have led to suspicions that their payment might not have been legitimate. They continued in the statement, “We take this matter very seriously and apologise to the EFF. Save for confirming that all the transactions queried by AfriForum with Standard Bank are genuine,”.
ALSO READ: ‘Funding Afriforum’: Did Julius Malema and the EFF pay R300 000?
Meanwhile, the EFF were said to be on the verge of taking legal action against Afriforum for suggestions that their proof of payment might have been fake. The party’s lawyer, Ian Levitt, spoke to Times Live and said “To include insinuations of my law firm being involved in doctoring documents has taken personal fights between our clients and AfriForum to a new level. AfriForum will pay heavily for this misinformation they are peddling on social media,”
It looks as if the long running tension between Afriforum and the EFF is set to continue!