Ex-Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's foundation wants the United States government to investigate President Cyril Ramaphosa over the theft of foreign currency at his Phala Phala farm in Bela-Bela, Limpopo.
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uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP and ex-Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s foundation has asked US authorities to go after President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal.
The Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane Foundation (BM Foundation), which describes itself as a South African justice advocacy organisation, has asked the US government to investigate the matter based on reasonable grounds to believe that violations of the US code have occurred in connection with the transportation, receipt, and concealment of a substantial volume of US currency at Ramaphosa’s private game farm in Bela-Bela, Limpopo.
“This report identifies, with specificity, the provisions of title 18 and title 31 of the United States code that appear to have been violated.
“The foundation respectfully requests that the relevant agencies initiate a formal investigation and, where the evidence so warrants, pursue criminal prosecution and civil or criminal forfeiture.”
According to the foundation, the precise quantum of US dollars has been the subject of conflicting representations.
The foundation said in representations to the Section 89 Independent Panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, stated that US$580,000 (about R9.6 million at the time) in February 2020 was stolen, which the president claimed represented the proceeds of a cash sale of game to a Sudanese national, Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim.
“On any version of the facts, the quantum of US currency involved exceeds the statutory threshold of US$10,000 by a factor of between 58 and 14,000,” the BM Foundation stated.
It accused Ramaphosa of failing to declare the foreign currency, and in March 2023, the SA Revenue Service (SARS) publicly confirmed that the stolen US dollars had not been declared upon entry into South Africa.
“Any lawful cross-border movement of currency in such volume would have required compliance with South African exchange control regulations, customs declarations, and tax reporting. No such compliance occurred,” the foundation added.
The Independent Panel concluded on a prima facie basis that Ramaphosa “may have committed a serious violation of the law”.
In addition, Mkhwebane’s 2023 report deferred investigation of foreign exchange compliance, tax compliance, and criminality to other bodies, none of which had completed their determinations.
“To date, no lawful account of the origin, transportation, or tax treatment of the US dollars has been provided,” the foundation stated.
It also accuses Ramaphosa of bulk cash smuggling.
In terms of US law, whoever, with the intent to evade a currency reporting requirement, knowingly conceals more than US$10,000 in currency or other monetary instruments on the person of such individual or in any conveyance, article of commerce, luggage, or other container, and transports or transfers or attempts to transport or transfer such currency or monetary instruments from a place within the US to an outside place, or from a place outside the US to a place within the US shall be guilty of a currency smuggling offence and subject to punishment.
Shirley Willemse, chairperson of the Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane Foundation, said the letter has been sent to various whistle-blowing agencies, including Crime Intelligence, hoping that they will do their job and refer to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as in South Africa, there is no direct link to the FBI.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za