Thabo Bester has officially been issued with an ID document, revealed the minsiter of Home Affairs.
Image via YouTube screenshot: SABC
How did Bester open a bank account without an ID?
ActionSA questions Bester’s banking institutions as to how they verified his identity as he accumulated millions in his account.
Thabo Bester has officially been issued with an ID document, revealed the minsiter of Home Affairs.
Image via YouTube screenshot: SABC
With a bank balance of over R800 million, ActionSA has questioned how convicted rapist Thabo Bester was able to open his bank account. The party’s Free State chairperson Patricia Kopane has written to the commissioner of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), Unathi Kamlana, to seek clarity on the matter.
REVEALING BESTER’S IDENTITY
On Monday, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi revealed that Bester had been officially registered on the National Population Register 36 years after his birth.
Born in Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto in 1986, Bester was not issued a birth certificate following his birth, and he never applied for an ID after turning 16.
Motsoaledi also said that investigations by his department into confirming the identity of Bester included conducting a DNA test against him and his mother, Meisi Maria Mabaso (born Bester) and records from the hospital.
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FICA REGULATIONS
Suspicions around Bester’s finances arose after his accounts were frozen following his arrest and the expensive clothes he has been wearing during his court appearances.
In a statement, ActionSA’s Kopane has said, “FSCA must provide clarity about the status of Thabo’s finances and whether or not there is a violation of lawful financial practices which would have allowed him to bankroll his original escape.”
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Kopane adds, according to Section 29 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001(FICA), which requires institutions to report all suspicious financial activities, the announcement made by the Minister of Home Affairs brought into question how his bank verified the client to open a bank account that reportedly had a balance of R872 million whilst the requisite FICA documents were not furnished.
“ActionSA would like to get clarity on this seemingly brazen violation of FICA, specifically the ‘Know Your Client’ requirements by a major corporate in South Africa. Furthermore, we would like to know whether actions would be taken to get clarity on how this financial institution rubber-stamped the opening of a bank account by Mr Bester in what appears to be a contravention of FICA regulations.” she says.
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