In a statement issued by First National Bank on Wednesday morning, it was said that the High Court had ordered the bank to place a hold on outgoing payments from former president Jacob Zuma’s FNB accounts.
According to FNB, Zuma’s account had to be partially frozen due to a court order obtained by VBS Mutual Bank liquidator Anoosh Rooplal.
“FNB was instructed by the high court to place a hold on outgoing payments from [former] president Zuma’s FNB account. The account is not closed as incoming payments are unaffected. This instruction from the court results from the process now being managed by the VBS Mutual Bank Bank liquidators, and FNB was legally required to comply. President Zuma’s recourse now lies with the courts and VBS Mutual Bank liquidators,” stated the bank.
Since Zuma’s appointment to oversee the bank’s liquidation back in November 2018, Rooplal has been trying to recover money from him. Roopal triumphed in a legal battle against him in 2022, when the Pietermaritzburg High Court issued a ruling enabling the bank to seize Zuma’s assets in order to collect unpaid debt.
The former president took out the massive loan in 2016, months after the Constitutional Court ruled that he ought to repay the money he used irregularly for “security upgrades” at his Nkandla private residence.
The court discovered that a visitors centre, amphitheatre, cattle kraal, poultry run, and swimming pool were among the structures that had been built with state funds.
The judgement was given following public protector, Thuli Madonsela’s report during her term. The report revealed irregular spendings in the project. Madonsela claimed that the project should have cost R145 million, but ended up costing the taxpayer R246 million.
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