The controversial Gupta family is banking on the South African Post Office being granted a licence as a way to save its businesses, the Sunday Times reported.<\/p>\n
The family, who have been accused of alleged State Capture – which they have refuted countless times – are facing\u00a0desperate times after yet another bank,\u00a0<\/span>India-based Bank of Baroda gave Gupta owned companies until the end of September to remove their money from the bank.<\/p>\n The Bank of Baroda has said that it no longer wants to do business with the family because of the reputational damage and risks its companies presented.<\/p>\n It comes after the country’s biggest banks\u00a0– Absa, Nedbank, Standard Bank and First National Bank – also closed their Gupta-related accounts citing similar reasons.<\/p>\n The Guptas agreed last month to sell their shares in The New Age newspaper and ANN7 channel to Lodidox\u201a a company owned by Mzwanele Jimmy Manyi\u201a for R450 million. <\/span><\/p>\n This, the Sunday Times said, was due to pressures created by the <\/span>Bank of Baroda which leaves the family with few remaining options.<\/p>\n Should Postbank begin providing full banking services, the Guptas hope it \u201cwill be unbiased and will consider their requests for opening accounts favourably\u201d, said Oakbay Investments acting CEO Ronica Ragavan.<\/p>\n In July last year, the South African Reserve Bank approved The South African Post Office (SAPO)’s first-level application for a banking licence for Postbank.<\/p>\n Fin24 reported in January that the Post Office was due to submit an application to register Postbank as a lender by July 3<\/a>, 2017. And while that date has come gone, minister of telecommunications, Siyabonga Cwele, has suggested that a licence is imminent. <\/span><\/p>\n
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