A TANZANIAN based in The Netherlands is leading a campaign to ask the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to reopen its controversial ‘plea deal’ investigation into London-based ICBC Standard Bank alleged involvement in bribery in Tanzania’s $600 million sovereign bond after claims that the SFO were misled by the financial institution.
Kapinga Kangoma, who until mid-day
yesterday had won 1,807 supporters, said in a statement that they were
deeply concerned on allegations that Standard Bank misrepresented the
truth and suppressed material facts about its order to get the deferred
prosecution agreement with SFO.
“We urge Serious Fraud Office to reopen
the investigation into Standard Bank and its role in alleged bribery
relating to a $600 million bond for our country, Tanzania. We deserve to
know the full truth about corruption that affects our country,” he
said.
The London-based ICBC Standard Bank paid
$33m after admitting it failed to prevent bribery by two bankers at a
sister firm in Tanzania. Media reports from UK say the deal, sanctioned
by a High Court judge, was the first time the SFO had used its powers to
strike a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).
The UK court heard two officials at
Stanbic Bank in Tanzania, which is a subsidiary of the London bank, paid
$6m to a third-party in Tanzania to help secure a deal for the bank to
raise the $600m for the Tanzanian government. It later emerged that $6m
was paid to Enterprise Growth Market Advisors, a company linked to two
senior government officials.
Enterprise Growth Chairman Harry Kitilya
was the commissioner of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), while its
MD, Fratern Mboya, was the former CEO of the Tanzanian Capital Markets
and Securities Authority.
The petition comes as it was revealed
that a former banker involved in the original controversial deal is
suing ICBC Bank and Stanbic Bank, its former Tanzanian subsidiary, for
$30m for “ruining her banking career and any other finance-related
business.”
Shose Sinare, the former head of
investment banking at Stanbic Bank, claims the bank secured the DPA by
suppressing key facts to secure the SFO deal.
She claims the Standard Bank
misrepresented the fact it was not aware of a local third party
involvement in the deal, insisting it was well aware before signing the
deal and that a draft collaboration document had been circulated to the
entire deal team including senior officials in London.
Academics, politicians and members of
the public have supported the petition to recall the deferred
prosecution agreement (DPA) between SFO and Standard Bank. The Director
of Nyerere Research Centre, Professor Issa Shivji, said in a twitter
post that the case provides good opportunity to start a movement of
liberation from the shackles of debt.
“Because a scandal affecting our country
- a country in the South - cannot be unilaterally closed apparently to
suppress the misdeeds of a multinational bank belonging to North,” Prof
Shivji said in a twitter post.
“We’re fast slipping down the road of
debt peonage. International sovereign debt is a vicious form of
primitive accumulation.” A Member of Parliament (MP) for Mbinga Urban
(CCM), Mr Sixtus Mapunda, said the petition was holding public interest
and hence important.
“It’s important for good image of our
country. It holds public interest!” he said in a post seen on the
website created for the petition purposes. The District Commissioner
(DC) for Iringa, Mr Richard Kasesela, said it was common for the similar
cases to be closed when offenders pay a fine with authorities in the
UK.
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