Nedbank has told Transnet it is not willing to take responsibility for the governance failures that led to Gupta-linked Regiments’ looting of the coffers of the state-owned entity, with the dispute now set to head to the courts.
On Tuesday, Nedbank said the mediation talks between it and Transnet had collapsed, largely due to the insistence by the state-owned enterprise that Nedbank accept it acted in a corrupt manner in respect of interest rate swap transactions in 2015 and 2016.
The lender said it would not be held liable for any governance failures at Transnet, and Nedbank would strongly defend any litigation against it — a position it has always held.
“Nedbank participated in the mediation process (which was a confidential, facilitated negotiation) in an attempt to resolve the dispute between the parties amicably and to avoid potentially drawn-out and costly litigation, for both parties, over transactions that Transnet regards as tainted by corruption,” it said in a statement.
“The bank’s willingness to discuss any potential settlement in mediation has always been exclusively on the basis that any settlement should never be construed as being an admission of guilt or involvement in corruption on Nedbank’s part.
“As a matter of principle, Nedbank is not prepared to settle on any basis where this could be inferred.”
Chief justice Raymond Zondo’s state capture report recommended that certain transactions involving Nedbank where Regiments acted as an adviser to Transnet be subject to further investigation.
Nedbank said it had no evidence that it behaved corruptly and the swaps were “commercially sound and the bank’s margin was reasonable for the risks assumed”.
It said that none of its staff was dishonest.
“Nedbank is not aware of, nor has it been provided with any evidence of, collusion or corruption on the part of Nedbank or its staff, despite numerous requests for disclosure of such evidence, should it exist,” the bank said.
“Nedbank rejects any attempt by Transnet to blame the bank for its own governance failures. Nedbank was not, and could not have been, aware of the apparent collusive relationships that the Regiments Group had forged with senior officials at Transnet, or the links that the Regiments Group apparently had with the Guptas, which were first reported in the media around May 2016, after the swaps had been concluded.
“Regiments Capital, and not Nedbank, was the appointed adviser to Transnet. Nedbank did not advise Transnet on the swaps at all and did not pay any fees to the Regiments Group in respect of the swaps.”
Transnet confirmed that talks between the parties had reached a deadlock.
It said: “Given the confidentiality constraints attached to the mediation process, Transnet makes no further comment. Transnet does not agree with the contents of Nedbank’s statement and is of the view that there is a case for Nedbank to answer to, obliging Transnet to take positive steps to have this matter heard in court. Legal proceedings will imminently be instituted.”
Correction: May 28 2024
A previous version of this article incorrectly said Zondo implicated Nedbank in wrongdoing in the multibillion-rand club loan scam.
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