Bank of Baroda, on Thursday, said it has not indulged in any activity violating regulatory guidelines knowingly vis-a-vis its operations in South Africa. “Transactions (in South Africa) were carried out in a professional and transparent manner, and we are totally committed to comply with rules and regulations laid out by the governing bodies and regulators,” the public sector bank said in a regulatory filing.

This observation comes in the backdrop of the bank getting embroiled in allegedly controversial transactions involving the influential Gupta family, which had close ties with former South African President Jacob Zuma.

The Prudential Authority of South Africa had imposed an administrative sanction comprising a financial penalty of R400,000 on BoB for failure to comply with the cash threshold reporting requirement in terms of section 28 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.

In FY2018, the Reserve Bank of India had imposed a monetary penalty of ₹5.45 crore on the bank for its failure to comply with the cash threshold reporting, implementing adequate processes and reporting suspicious and unusual transactions.

As per the filing, BoB’s operations in South Africa were governed and conducted in accordance with the regulations and guidelines of the South African Reserve Bank and Reserve Bank of India.

“Client confidentiality prohibits us from disclosing specific client related information; however, suspicious transaction reports have been filed wherever required. Nevertheless, the regulators have been updated on the factual position.

“We would also like to state that the business dealings and transactions undertaken by the South African territory have been extensively examined by the regulator through external agencies, and the reports thereon have been submitted to the regulators,” as per the filing.

The bank added that it continues to fully cooperate with the law enforcement agencies, including State Capture Inquiry Commission, and has responded and supported all enquiries by regulators and provided full details as and when sought.

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