Absa Bank acted in good faith when in 2013 it closed down the bank accounts of businessman Fana Hlongwane and his companies, the High Court in Pretoria said on Thursday. The judgment comes in the wake of the court application by the Treasury, asking for a declaration that it may not intervene in the relationship between the big four banks and the Gupta family, after their bank accounts were closed by all four banks. In response to the litigation, the Guptas have asked the Treasury and the banks for documents that would shed more light on why they closed the accounts. It is understood there is some debate over what information and documents the Guptas are entitled to, if any. The judgment on Thursday revealed that Hlongwane had sought more information on the closure of his Absa accounts but, unlike the Guptas, his request was made under the Promotion of Access to Information Act. Judge Nomonde Mngqibisa-Thusi said the applicants — Hlongwane and his companies — asked for the informati...

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