Cash stash

South African citizens hold nearly ZAR30 billion of the country’s wealth in HSBC Swiss bank accounts.

Representing 0.57% of GDP, this is supposedly linked to South African CEOs of top blue-chip companies and sports stars, as well as a certain key figure in a controversial arms deal, according to a Business Tech report.

It may not sound like much but that 0.57% represents just one leak from one bank in one tax haven, says Christian Freymeyer of the Financial Transparency Coalition. What’s more, the money connected to South Africa per capita is higher than that of citizens of France, the US and Spain.

‘So, in viewing this as just a fraction of what potentially sits offshore in South African assets, the number really comes into context,’ he says.