Public Protector lays charges over leaked Absa report
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has opened a criminal case following the leaking of the provisional report on an investigation into an apartheid-era Absa bailout.
Mkhwebane's report into Absa's predecessor Bankkorp, alleging a bailout of billions of rands by the apartheid government, came to light last week.
The report is based on an investigation by a UK company in 1997 which probed claims that the Bankorp group of banks, bought by Absa in 1992, had been offered R1.5 billion under the guise of a bailout before the dawn of democracy.
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The leaked provisional report's remedial action includes that Absa should pay back R2.25 billion to the state.
Public Protector spokesperson Oupa Segalwe says a case was opened at the Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria to find those responsible for the leak.
"We trust that the police will crack the case and help us going forward so that we can avoid these kind of leaks, because they have a negative impact on the reputation of the office of the Public Protector," says Segalwe.