By Staff Writer
The Bank of Baroda would close the accounts of the controversial Gupta family at the end of August, Business Day reported on Thursday.
However, Business Day said that the Bank of Baroda initial closure was meant to take place at the end of March.
The bank has been closing its transactional accounts, however, the difficulty has been to close the family’s large loan accounts.
The newspaper added that the Guptas intend interdicting the bank from closing their accounts.
This move follows the closure of the Gupta accounts in 2016 by four major banks in SA, with the Bank of China following suit mainly because it viewed the family as politically exposed.
The Star newspaper reported on Wednesday that workers at the Gupta-owned The New Age and ANN7 were called to a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, where news of the imminent closure of the company’s accounts by the Bank of Baroda was disclosed.
The news has left scores of Oakbay Investments’ employees in a state of panic about how they will be paid their salaries in the coming months.