DOCUMENTS REQUEST
South African History Archive calls for Bank to release apartheid records
Archive’s request includes Vito Roberto Palazzolo, who allegedly laundered money for South African-Israeli weapon programmes
The Reserve Bank’s "blanket refusal" to grant an archive group access to documents in its possession is not fitting for a democratic state, particularly given the apartheid government’s obsession with secrecy. Advocate Geoff Budlender made these submissions in the High Court in Johannesburg on Friday. He was representing the South African History Archive, which is seeking records of suspected apartheid-era financial crime from the Bank. The archive made 14 requests to the Bank, under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, for records that would reveal evidence of fraud — including through manipulation of the financial rand dual currency and foreign exchange, the forging of Eskom bonds and sanctions busting. The archive’s request relates to Vito Roberto Palazzolo, Jan Blaauw and Robert Oliver Hill. Palazzolo, who allegedly laundered money for South African-Israeli weapon programmes, is imprisoned in Italy for Mafia-related crimes. Blaauw, who was allegedly involved in the arms t...
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