Reserve Bank found no forex violations by Mapisa-Nqakula, court hears

Ebenhaezer Minnie, an investigator in the compliance and enforcement division of surveillance at the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb), testified that he made no adverse findings regarding former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, noting that nothing in her account records reflected negatively on her.

Minnie, who examines customer foreign exchange activities, testified before the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Friday.

Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering for allegedly soliciting R4.5m in bribes and benefits, R2.1m of which was paid in cash by military contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu.

She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the state’s star witness, alleged that between 2016 and 2019, Mapisa-Nqakula solicited and accepted millions of rand in bribes to secure and protect lucrative defence logistics contracts.

She alleged that Mapisa-Nqakula requested a payment in US dollars in September 2018 to fund a trip to New York. Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu previously testified that she handed over about $10,000 (equivalent to R150,000 at the time) to Mapisa-Nqakula at her Waterkloof Air Force Base office.

However, Minnie’s analysis of Mapisa-Nqakula’s overseas credit card purchases revealed no transactions recorded in September 2018, the month Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu alleged the $10,000 was handed over. Haezer found that her Absa credit card was used abroad on only a few occasions:

• a payment of R2,731 at a restaurant in Namibia on August 16 2018;
• a transaction of €135 (R2,521) for shoes in Europe on November 10 2018; and
• a transaction of $700 (R11,300) in New York on March 7 2019.

An interior decorator, Nomsa Shabangu, who managed R1.7m in home renovations at Mapisa-Nqakula’s Bruma residence between 2018 and 2022, testified that Mapisa-Nqakula bought specialised curtain fabric overseas because it was cheaper than purchasing it locally.

The case has been postponed to August 13, when the state is expected to call additional witnesses.

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