South Africa’s FNB Latest to Cut Ties with Guptas

Only days after global accounting firm KPMG and Sasfin Bank announcned that they were no longer doing business with the Gupta family, First National Bank has done likewise.

According to a statement on Wednesday by the Gupta’s Oakbay Investments, it demanded  an explanation from Jacques Celliers, CEO of FNB, “for the closing of the Company’s accounts. Oakbay has received no reason whatsoever justifying FNB’s actions”.

“We demand an explanation from Jacques Celliers,” the statement said.

Oakbay said it had received a similar notification from Absa Bank in December, and that it had moved its FNB accounts to a “more enlightened institution”.

The Gupta family has come under renewed attack since December, according to news reports, for allegedly unduly influencing the affairs of government thanks to their connections to President Jacob Zuma and his son, Duduzane, who is a partner with the Guptas in one of their companies.

On Monday it was reported that international accounting firm KPMG and Sasfin had cut ties with the Guptas.

The statement referred to “numerous false allegations” and “slanderous, unfounded innuendo”.

“These latest incidents are clear proof that the recent allegations against the company and the wider Gupta family are all part of a carefully orchestrated political campaign, which, tragically, involves some of the country’s most senior institutions and individuals. It is very disappointing that FNB (and Absa) have allowed themselves to be dragged into the political in-fighting by the campaign’s orchestrators.”